Israel's deadline after the deadline
Blue and White leader Benny Gantz has 48 hours to choose between a fourth round of elections and a unity government under conditions orchestrated by Benjamin Netanyahu.
The deadline to end Israel’s never-ending political drama had been set for April 13, at the stroke of midnight, by which time Blue and White leader Benny Gantz would have conceded defeat or announced success in assembling a new government. In Israel, however, after one deadline comes another deadline. At the end of every dead end there's an escape route. At every crossroads lurks a path unknown by any GPS system. By comparison, the drama surrounding the prime minister’s residence in Jerusalem makes the “House of Cards” look like “Little House on the Prairie.”
In the early morning hours of April 14, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin agreed to extend Gantz’s mandate to assemble a government, but only for 48 hours. Usually, if a Knesset member tasked with assembling a government asks for time beyond the designated 28 days, the president should grant an additional 14 days. Given the low degree of trust in the political abilities of Gantz and in the political credibility of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, the president granted only two days.
