#BREAKING Netanyahu officially gave up on forming a governing coalition.
Rivlin now has up to 3 days to decide what to do. The likely scenario is that he’ll task Gantz with forming a government - he’ll have 28 days to do it w/ a possible but unlikely extension of up to 2 weeks. The other option is letting the Knesset decide - they have to pick a 1/
prime minister supported by the majority of the Knesset within 21 days or there’s a 3rd election. Knesset option will also happen if Gantz tries and fails.
Btw it’s also Netanyahu’s 70th birthday today
Rivlin's office says he intends to give Gantz the 28 days to form a government. It's not an official handover yet, because he's giving all the factions in the Knesset a chance to have another consultation with him if they want.
Here's the timeline jpost.com/Israel-News/TI…
Updated the timeline article after realizing March 10 is Purim. There's a constitutional issue here, bc elections aren't held on holidays, but Basic Law: Knesset requires an election to be on the last Tuesday in 90 days in this extreme case. Election Ctee didn't know the answer!
There is an answer from the Central Elections Committee! Legally, an election CAN be held on Purim. That would be perfect.
Updated timeline: Rivlin will make Gantz the official candidate tomorrow night, which means his deadline is November 20.
