An agreement must be reached by Wednesday night at midnight to prevent the Knesset from dispersing itself automatically.
By GIL HOFFMAN -https://www.jpost.com
An agreement must be reached by Wednesday at midnight to prevent the Knesset from dispersing itself automatically. If no MK obtains the support of a majority of the Knesset to form a government by then, Israelis will go to the polls for the third time in under a year.
But in the same speech, Gantz attacked Netanyahu, saying “It is wrong to forgive corruption” and lamenting that the prime minister said the word “I” nearly 60 times at the same conference earlier Sunday.
Netanyahu also spoke about the possibility of avoiding elections. But said that for that to happen, “Gantz would have to prevail over [his number two, Yair] Lapid, or [Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor] Liberman would have to prevail over Liberman.”
KAN Radio reported on Sunday morning that more than half of the party’s 33 MKs would back enabling Netanyahu to remain prime minister for five more months to prevent an election. But sources in Blue and White said there is no real dispute in the party and even those seen as favoring compromise, like MK Gabi Ashkenazi, would not take steps to bring it about.
“Nothing is happening, and there will be no independent pressure from Gabi,” a source in Blue and White said.
Netanyahu asked coalition ministers and MKs to cancel their trips abroad this week in order to be present for votes on dispersing the Knesset.
The only politician still working actively and openly to prevent the election is Shas leader Arye Deri, who met with Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin on Sunday, and is expected to meet with Gantz in a last-ditch effort to bring about a unity government.
The head of the Knesset Finance Committee, MK Moshe Gafni (United Torah Judaism) told the conference that if Israel goes to a third election in under a year, the country will face “an economic holocaust.”