The negotiation team for Benjamin Netanyahu´s Likud and rival White Blue Party leader General Benny Gantz met Friday morning to try to form a coalition government.
Israeli experts pointed out that the alliance between Likud and White Blue is a "near impossible" task, which could lead to the possibility of Israel going to elections, the third since last April after the elections led to a dead end.
"The third election is a tragedy, but we need a partner who shares this view," said Likud negotiator Zeev Elkin, quoted by Israeli public radio.
"There is no point in negotiating with Netanyahu, who wants to be the first prime minister in a bipartisan rotation," said White House MP Hailee Truber.
Truber pointed out that his party is waiting for the Likud to fail in the task of forming a government to be transferred to Gantz mandate, pointing out that then the new situation will lead to the development of a different dynamic necessitated Likud to change positions.
The radio quoted Netanyahu last night, that he would not break his partnership with the rest of the right-wing camp, in response to Gantz´s earlier requirement to establish a unity government to dissolve the coalition of right-wing parties.
Meanwhile, a new poll conducted by the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation (KAN) revealed today that more than half of the Israeli public supports a national unity government.
The poll showed that 50.6% of those polled favor a government of national unity, including rotation between Netanyahu and Gantz, while 32.1% opposed it.
According to the poll, 41.8% of respondents said they support Netanyahu to be the first prime minister in turn, while 40.8% said they support Gantz.
34.5% blamed Netanyahu for a third election in Israel, 31.6% blamed Avigdor Lieberman, head of the Yisrael Beitenu party, and 8% said Yair Lapid, the second person in a blue-white alliance, was in charge. 6.4% blamed Gantz.
The results of last week´s elections gave a blue-white party 33 seats and Likud 32 seats. The alliance of Arab parties "joint list" third with 13 seats, followed by the party "Shas" Haredi with nine, and "Israel Beitenu" headed by Avigdor Lieberman won eight seats.
The Judea and the Right Alliance won seven seats each, while the Labor-Gesher Alliance and the Democratic Camp Party won five each.
Neither Gantz nor Netanyahu have a clear path to securing the 61 seats required to form a coalition government.
