With the threat of new elections over their heads, the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his chief rival, Benny Gantz, have intensified efforts aimed at finalising and forming a coalition government, calling on the country’s president to extend the Monday deadline to midnight on Wednesday.

The two held a meeting followed by an overnight session on Monday, after which they had asked for, and received, a deadline from President Reuven Rivlin. In a statement released on Tuesday morning, the president of Israel revealed that both sides had achieved “significant progress” so far.

Both Sides Speak Up

Addressing the issue in two separate televised events that aired just before the original Monday deadline, both Netanyahu and Gantz expressed their desire to form a unity government, especially now, in a bid to attend to the deadly coronavirus pandemic. However, none of them revealed what was impeding an agreement.

In his statement, Netanyahu said: “We will keep making every effort to achieve the unity that the country so needs these days.” He also called on his rival to see him on Wednesday at the prime minister’s residence in Jerusalem, “Let’s meet and sign even tonight on forming a national emergency government that will save lives and works for the citizens of Israel.”

Half an hour later, Gantz in his own statement also called on the prime minister to come on board for an agreement that would benefit Israel. “Netanyahu, we have arrived at the moment of truth,” he said. “The citizens of Israel expect us — both of us — to make difficult decisions,” he said.

A Long Journey for Israel

Following last month’s election – the third consecutive election for the country, Gantz came out with a slight numeric advantage in Parliament but, just like Netanyahu, he failed to muster a majority coalition. This inadvertently forced him to go back on his campaign promises of not working with Netanyahu who is currently facing corruption charges as a joint government seemed like the only way out of the deadlock. The possible joint government will see Netanyahu remain prime minister for the first 18 months while Gantz takes over for the remaining 18 months.

If the two sides are unable to resolve their differences by Wednesday night, President Rivlin is expected to refer the task of forming a government to the parliament in Israel, a decision that will increase the chances of a new election, Israel’s fourth in less than two years.