Netanyahu’s Eleventh-Hour Unity Bid Rejected by Rival

As the clock ticks down to the end of incumbent Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s window of opportunity to form a government and continue to lead the nation, he again reached out to rival Benny Gantz, political novice and head of the Blue and White bloc with a unity government agreement only to have it rejected out-of-hand by Gantz. That the plan Netanyahu presented was based on suggestions offered by President Reuven Rivlin proved to be of no avail. The most obvious shortcoming in the deal Netanyahu presented was the absence of a rotating prime ministership in which the two-party leaders would the term of office in the top spot, each having a term as prime minister. Ironically, the deal would divide the most important position in the Israeli government between the most experienced prime minister in the nation’s history and one who has never held elected office or governed at all.