Blue and White leader rejects offer to serve under Likud after close-run Israeli election

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Benjamin Netanyahu is furiously manoeuvring to cling to office after his rival Benny Gantz refused to serve under him in a government of national unity following an inconclusive election.

Gantz’s Blue and White alliance is two seats ahead of the Israeli prime minister’s Likud party, according to results published by Israeli media with 97% of the vote counted.

Neither bloc has an obvious path to form a majority coalition, and Netanyahu called for them to join together in a unity government, hinting that he might be willing to accept a power-sharing arrangement with Gantz, a precedent found in the rotation of the prime minister’s office between Yitzhak Shamir and Shimon Peres in the mid-1980s.

Gantz, a former military chief, said he should lead the next government because his alliance won the most seats.

“The country has chosen unity. The country has chosen Israel first,” Gantz said on Thursday. “Blue and White, headed by me, has won the election … I am interested in and intend to form a broad and liberal unity government, under my leadership. A government that will convey the will of the people. A paralysed national government does not benefit the people.”

Moshe Ya’alon, a senior Blue and White figure, was blunt, telling reporters: “We will not enter a coalition led by Netanyahu.”

Netanyahu said he was “surprised and disappointed” by the rejection.

Bolstering his opponents’ case that the election was a referendum on the prime minister, polling suggested that Netanyahu and Likud had lost support in its former strongholds.

While the struggle to form coalition governments has long been a feature of Israel’s fractious politics, it has been further complicated by the presence of the deeply polarising figure of Netanyahu.

In two weeks’ time he will face pre-trial hearings for three corruption cases against him. A majority in the 120-seat parliament could help grant the 69-year-old – who denies any wrongdoing – immunity from prosecution.

Quick guide The police investigations swirling around Netanyahu Show Hide The Israeli PM is embroiled in four cases involving allegations of bribery and misconduct. He denies wrongdoing in every instance. Case 1000 is an investigation into gifts received on a regular basis by Netanyahu and his family from two wealthy businessmen, including cigars and pink champagne. Case 2000 is examining whether Netanyahu behaved improperly during a taped conversation with a newspaper publisher in which he appeared to try to negotiate more sympathetic coverage in return for lowering the circulation of a rival paper. Case 3000 is an inquiry into alleged kickbacks in a deal to buy German submarines. Netanyahu is not a suspect, but he was closely involved in the deal and the case has ensnared members of his inner circle.

Case 4000, the most serious, involves allegations that Netanyahu offered incentives to the Israeli telecoms company Bezeq in exchange for positive stories in an online news website it owns, Walla.

Netanyahu has worked hard to make sure that blame for the failure of a deal with Gantz – which would raise the prospects of an unprecedented third round of elections – is apportioned to his rival.

While weeks of negotiations to form a coalition government lay ahead, conditions set by the parties could hobble the task within the allotted time, prompting a third election.

Neither side appeared to be able to form a government of at least 61 seats without the support of the election’s apparent kingmaker, Avigdor Lieberman of the Yisrael Beitenu party.

His insistence on a secular government would force out Netanyahu’s traditional allies, the country’s two ultra-Orthodox parties and another nationalist-religious party.

Reuven Rivlin, the country’s president, promised on Thursday to do everything in his power to prevent a third election.

Israel election deadlock: what happens next? Read more

The deadlock follows the second Israeli elections this year, which were called because Netanyahu failed to cobble together a coalition after the April vote. Israelis endured a caustic campaign with a combative Netanyahu fighting for his political survival.

This week’s vote was largely seen as a referendum on Netanyahu, who this summer surpassed Israel’s founding prime minister to become the country’s longest-serving leader. During the campaign, Netanyahu cast himself as a seasoned statesman who was the only candidate able to steer Israel through a sea of challenges.

Gantz, a former army chief, tried to paint Netanyahu as divisive and scandal-plagued, offering himself as a calming influence and honest alternative.