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by Ifi Reporter Category:Politics Mar 17, 2020

BINYAMIN NETANYAHU, Israel’s prime minister for the past 11 years, is never one to waste a good crisis. In recent days he has used his televised briefings on the covid-19 pandemic to exhort the leader of the opposition, Benny Gantz, to join an emergency unity government—under Mr Netanyahu, of course. The prime minister seems undeterred by the failure of his coalition of nationalist and religious parties to win a majority in the parliamentary election on March 2nd, or by the charges of bribery and fraud that he faces for allegedly receiving illegal gifts and trading favours for positive press coverage.

On March 16th Mr Gantz was given the first shot at forming a government, having received the endorsement of 61 members of the 120-seat Knesset (Israel’s parliament). He has vowed to “form a national unity government, as broad as possible, within days”. But his allies are united only in their desire to replace Mr Netanyahu. They include Yisrael Beiteinu, a Jewish nationalist party led by Avigdor Lieberman, and the Joint List, an alliance of Arab-majority parties that is now the third-biggest bloc in the Knesset (see chart). They are unlikely to sit in government together. Even some in Mr Gantz’s own party, Blue and White, oppose a government that is supported by Arab lawmakers. Mr Netanyahu, for his part, calls the Arab parties “terror supporters”.

Mr Gantz’s preference would be to form a unity government that includes Mr Netanyahu’s Likud party. “I extend my elbow,” said Mr Gantz, referring to new guidelines barring handshakes. But Mr Netanyahu has always insisted that, if the premiership were to rotate between them, he should go first. Mr Gantz and his colleagues are loth to accept this proposal as they believe Mr Netanyahu would not abide by the deal. Moreover, they think he will use his position to try to shield himself from legal action. Mr Gantz could try to pass legislation preventing a politician facing criminal charges from forming a government. But right-wing politicians might accuse him of sabotaging the effort to fight covid-19.

The outbreak in Israel has given the negotiations a sense of urgency. So far it has been less severe than elsewhere. Out of nearly 300 confirmed cases there have been no recorded deaths. Last month Israel began refusing entry to citizens of infected countries. Since then it has gradually expanded the ban and required everyone arriving in Israel, including citizens, to self-quarantine for 14 days. Schools and restaurants have been ordered to close, and indoor gatherings of over ten people are banned. But a more comprehensive response, involving emergency funding or using electronic surveillance to track virus-carriers, will be difficult to implement without a full-time government.

Mr Netanyahu has been accused of politicising the crisis. His critics claim that he delayed the order to quarantine American visitors to Israel because of pressure from the Trump administration, and that he postpones the publication of public-health orders until his own televised briefings, so that he can strike the pose of a leader. He has also used the briefings to show people the correct way to blow their noses. “There’s a lot of rubbish being said [by Mr Netanyahu], while a small group of officials are really doing the hard work,” says a minister.

Mr Netanyahu accuses Mr Gantz of practising “small politics” at a time of national emergency. But the same could be said of the prime minister. His trial, originally due to begin this week, has been pushed back to May 24th. Some have viewed this as a political decision—made by judges, but under pressure from the justice minister, a Netanyahu appointee. Mr Gantz, upon accepting the mandate to form a government, referred darkly to “illegitimate efforts by the current prime minister to evade justice.”

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