Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Rival Benny Gantz Agree to Form Unity Government
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his rival Benny Gantz have agreed to form a unity government, a move that would avert the prospect of another election as the country grapples with the coronavirus pandemic and keep the Israeli leader in power while he faces trial on corruption charges.
On Monday, Mr. Netanyahu’s Likud party and Mr. Gantz’s Blue and White party issued a statement saying an agreement for a “national emergency government” has been signed after weeks of talks that had faltered in recent days.
The deal will see Mr. Netanyahu serving first as prime minister, with Mr. Gantz taking over the position in October 2021, according to a copy of the agreement. Should Mr. Netanyahu try to dissolve the government before Mr. Gantz takes over, Mr. Gantz will automatically become prime minister for six months before a new election is called.
Under the deal’s terms, the emergency government is supposed to deal exclusively with the coronavirus for six months, with one major exception: Starting in July, Mr. Netanyahu will be able to bring to a vote a bill to apply Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank under conditions agreed upon with the U.S. government. The government is expected to be the largest in Israel’s history in terms of ministers and deputy ministers.
“I promised the country a national emergency government that will work to save the lives and livelihoods of the citizens of Israel,” Mr. Netanyahu wrote on Twitter.
The deal cements an improbable marriage between two politicians who have spent three election campaigns denigrating each other, with Israelis growing increasingly weary of the country’s political stalemate and deep divisions.
Mr. Netanyahu once called Mr. Gantz, a former army general, unfit to be prime minister, and Mr. Gantz said Mr. Netanyahu was a corrupt leader who had been in power for too long.
Mr. Gantz last month reversed course about serving in a government with Mr. Netanyahu, breaking up Blue and White to join forces with Mr. Netanyahu in order to form a government that could tackle the fallout from the coronavirus crisis. Mr. Gantz said the move would allow the country to end its political stalemate while also preventing Mr. Netanyahu from undermining Israel’s democracy to shield himself from the court.
“We prevented a fourth election. We will preserve democracy. We will fight the coronavirus,” Mr. Gantz wrote in a tweet Monday night.
Mr. Gantz will serve as the defense minister as well as deputy prime minister until he assumes the role of prime minister.
Mr. Netanyahu has been indicted on corruption charges, with his trial set to begin next month. He denies any wrongdoing. His efforts to find support for immunity legislation or other legislative measures to insulate him from the charges he faces have contributed significantly to the electoral impasse, though divisions over religion and state in the country also played a role in the earlier votes.
One of the most sensitive issues of the talks revolved around the Likud’s power to appoint senior judicial officials that could have influence over Mr. Netayahu’s cases.
The parties agreed that these appointments, such as the state prosecutor and attorney general, would be frozen for six months. After that they will be chosen with the consent of both parties, giving Mr. Netanyahu a veto.
The decision prompted quick criticism from lawmakers from the center and left, including Labor lawmaker Merav Michaeli, who tweeted: “And this they defending democracy.”
Likud also sought ways to assuage Mr. Netanyahu’s concerns about what would happen if the High Court ruled he would be unable to form a government while under indictment.
If Mr. Netanyahu is legally prevented from forming a government, the deal says the two sides will agree to dissolve the Knesset and go to elections.
Analysts said Mr. Netanyahu agreed to step down after 18 months but won agreement from Mr. Gantz on most of his demands, including backing annexation of the West Bank and judicial appointments.
Last week, President Reuven Rivlin passed the mandate to form a government to Israel’s parliament after Messrs. Netanyahu and Gantz missed his deadline to reach an agreement—raising the probability of another vote to break the deadlock after three inconclusive elections in a year.
Israel has been battling the new coronavirus by imposing varying degrees of lockdown since March, though it began easing the lockdown on Sunday. Israel had 13,654 confirmed coronavirus cases and 175 deaths from the resulting Covid-19 as of Monday, the Health Ministry said.
The International Monetary Fund expects Israel’s economy to contract by 6.3% this year due to the pandemic. The country is currently experiencing unemployment of more than 26%, according to the Israel Employment Service.
The deal secures Mr. Netanyahu’s place at the helm of the country for at least another 18 months and comes after three hard-fought elections that generated no clear winner.
Blue and White posed a formidable challenge to Mr. Netanyahu, blocking him from being able to form a right-wing coalition outright as he had pledged to do when the race first began more than one year ago. But analysts said he appeared to pull off another impressive political feat, of the kind that has earned him the nickname “the Magician” for being able to outwit and outlast his opponents.
“For Netanyahu, this is a very good outcome,” said David Makovsky, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. “He has insulated himself and he has leveraged what he wanted, which is to maximize his time in office while Trump is president of the United States.”
Mr. Gantz, meanwhile, “paid a very heavy political price,” Mr. Makovsky said.
“Gantz’s gamble is that he’s doing what’s right for the country at this time…and he’s hoping that his second half will turn out. But this could be a football game that ends at halftime.”
Photo: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, and retired Israeli Gen. Benny Gantz, leader of the Blue and White party. - FROM LEFT: ODED BALILTY/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES; JACK GUEZ/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
