As Reported by Qods News Agency (Qodsna) During a press conference in Jerusalem al-Quds on Wednesday evening, President Reuven Rivlin gave the former military chief 28 days to put together a unity government. <\/p>\r\n\r\n
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“I promised to put in place a liberal unity government and that’s what I intend to do,” Gantz said at the news conference.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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“If and when it’s demanded, I’ll make hard choices in the coming days,” he added.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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This is the first time in a decade that someone other than Netanyahu will be trying to form a government. If Gantz fails, Israel will have to hold an unprecedented third election in the span of a year, something that<\/p>\r\n\r\n
seems likely given the divided makeup of Israel’s parliament. <\/p>\r\n\r\n
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“These are fateful days,” said Rivlin after the event. “The urgency of the hour and the challenges that we are facing obligate us to form a government as soon as possible.”<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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Gantz's Blue and White party received 33 out of 120 Knesset seats in Israel's September 17 election, followed closely by Netanyahu's Likud party with 32, both far from securing a majority in parliament.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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Since Gantz's bloc of center-left parties was smaller than Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc, Netanyahu became the first person who got the chance to form a coalition.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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However, the office of Israel's president announced on Monday that Netanyahu had returned the mandate to form the cabinet to the president due to inability to do so.<\/p>\r\n\r\n