Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu(L), Israeli President Reuven Rivlin(C) and Benny Gantz(R), former Israeli Army Chief of Staff and chairman of the Blue and White party, join hands as they attend a memorial service for late Israeli president Shimon Peres in Jerusalem, on Sept. 19, 2019. (Xinhua/JINI)
It remains to be seen if Gantz would succeed in forming a coalition government after Netanyahu failed for the second time this year to do so.
JERUSALEM, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- Israeli President Reuven Rivlin decided Tuesday to task opposition leader Benny Gantz with forming a new government after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's failure to do so.
The President's Residence said in a statement that Rivlin would give the mandate for forming a government to Gantz, leader of the centrist Blue and White party, on Wednesday evening.
The Israeli president's decision came after Netanyahu announced on Monday he had failed to form a coalition.
Gantz will have 28 days to try to form a governing coalition. It remains to be seen if Gantz would assemble enough parliamentary seats to form a majority government, which is a tough task for him.
Israel's political system has been paralyzed since the closely-fought elections on Sept. 17 with no party winning enough votes to form a majority coalition in the 120-seat parliament, or Knesset.
The elections were the second time Israelis cast their votes in five months. Netanyahu failed to form a coalition government following the April elections, which led to the holding of new elections in September. ■
