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Netanyahu’s rival Gantz nominates himself to serve as speaker of Israeli parliament Gantz elected Israel’s parliament speaker, moves closer to unity govt with Netanyahu
(about 1 hour later)
Israel’s ex-military chief Benny Gantz submitted himself Thursday as a candidate for speaker of parliament. Gantz is PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s main rival, and the move could lead to an emergency alliance between the two, AFP reports. Israeli opposition leader Benny Gantz was elected on Thursday as speaker of parliament in a surprise move. It appears to herald a political partnership that could keep Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in power.
The parliament announced that Gantz was the only candidate to succeed Netanyahu ally Yuli Edelstein, who resigned as speaker on Wednesday. With only the partial backing of the centrist former general Gantz’s Blue and White party and the support of Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud, Gantz was elected with 74 votes in the 120-member Knesset. It could pave the way for a “rotation deal” in which Netanyahu and Gantz would take turns as prime minister.
Israel’s Supreme Court arranged for a vote for a parliamentary speaker to be held later in the day in a showdown with the ally of Netanyahu. In what the court called an unprecedented challenge of its authority by a public official, current speaker Edelstein disobeyed its order to hold an election for the post – a vote he was set to lose, Reuters said. Instead, he quit on Wednesday. Talks to form a unity government were in progress between both parties after a March 2 inconclusive election and in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
Attacking Edelstein’s defiance but stopping short of penalizing him in a contempt hearing, the court empowered Amir Peretz, a veteran legislator and a Netanyahu opponent, to hold the vote. Gantz left many of his own political allies fuming over the smoothing of a path to partnership with Netanyahu, Reuters said.