President Reuven Rivlin will task Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz with forming a government on Wednesday, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced earlier this week he was unable to do so.
A statement from Rivlin’s office on Tuesday said the president will officially give Gantz the mandate to try and build a Knesset majority after his chief of staff completed a second round of consultations with representatives of all Knesset parties.
The two will sign a document establishing the appointment at 8 p.m. and make statements.
Along with his new status as prospective prime minister, Gantz this week will receive a security detail from the state.
Earlier Tuesday, the secular right-wing Yisrael Beytenu party said it would not be endorsing anyone for prime minister in the second round of coalition talks, while Netanyahu’s allies reiterated their support for the prime minister.
Netanyahu announced Monday that he had failed to form a majority government in the Knesset, marking a major setback for the embattled prime minister that plunges the country into a new period of political uncertainty.
Facing a Wednesday deadline, Netanyahu said he was returning the mandate to form a government to Rivlin, blaming his failure on Gantz, Blue and White deputy head Yair Lapid, and Yisrael Beytenu party leader Avigdor Liberman
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