Netanyahu granted mandate to form fifth government
Sources close to PM: Yamina’s demands ‘unrealistic’
President Reuven Rivlin officially granted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a two-week mandate on Thursday night to form his fifthstraight government, which would keep him in power until November 13, 2021.
“I hope Israel will soon have a government that will deal successfully with the complex challenges that stand before us,” Rivlin said, noting the dual crises of the political stalemate and the impact of the coronavirus.
Representatives of Likud and Blue and White submitted 72 signatures of MKs recommending that Netanyahu form the government to Rivlin late afternoon on Thursday, after all the bills required to form the government passed by a wide margin. The signatures came from Blue and White, Labor and Netanyahu’s Right-Center bloc, except for the MKs of Yamina, who absented themselves because it is still unknown whether the party will enter the coalition.
Netanyahu and Yamina leader Naftali Bennett failed to make any progress in a conversation on Thursday. Sources close to the prime minister said afterward that it was final that Yamina would remain in the opposition, because of the party’s unrealistic demands at a time when there is a shortage of portfolios for Likud ministers.
Talks will continue over the weekend between Likud and Blue and White negotiating teams to decide on the final make-up of portfolios, so that the new government can be sworn in on Wednesday, giving Israel its first fully functioning government since December 2018. Blue and White offered Likud several combinations of portfolios in return for the Health Ministry, which Blue and White leader Benny Gantz wants to give to a professional, such as Galilee Medical Center director-general Dr. Masad Barhoum or