Israel's President calls on Benny Gantz to form government

17 Mar 2020

Israel’s President calls on Benny Gantz to form government

Israel’s President calls on Benny Gantz to form governmentWe read about Israel's third election in a span of one year where current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed victory.

In a surprise turn of events, Israel's President Reuven Rivlin has called upon Mr Netanyahu's rival, former military chief Benny Gantz to form the govt (government).

This has come about after Mr Gantz, leader of the Blue and White party, received support from 61 members of parliament. 61 is the minimum number required to form a government (Israel has a 120-member Knesset, or Parliament).
 	Meanwhile, Israel's 23rd Parliament was sworn-in on Monday.
 	Israel's government system is similar to India - the president is the formal and nominal head while the leader of the majority in parliament is the prime minister (who has the real power).

What happens now?

President Rivlin has officially given Mr Gantz 28 days to form his government.
 	Israel is not keen on a fourth election and the president also hopes that this time the govt can be formed as Israel needs to fight the COVID-19 epidemic.
 	Mr Netanyahu has voiced that he is the real winner of the election as his Likud party won the most number of votes. He has called for a unity govt for 6 months, where he and Mr Gantz will work together.
 	However, Mr Gantz has refused to be part of any govt that includes Mr Netanyahu, faces corruption charges (his trial which was scheduled for this month has been postponed to July).

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