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Blue and White sources: Odds of preventing another election ’50-50’

December 20, 2020 at 12:02 pm

Israeli Blue and White party chief Benny Gantz (R), shakes hands with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) as they attend a state memorial ceremony for former Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin (backround) and his wife Leah, at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem on 10 November, 2019 [HEIDI LEVINE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images]

There is a 50-50 chance of preventing another Israeli general election, sources from Israel’s Blue and White Party have claimed, i24 News reports.

Israeli parliament is due to dissolve, as both parties in the government coalition are at loggerheads over the 2021 state budget.

Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Likud and Benny Gantz’ Blue and White Party will meet today in a last ditch attempt to thrash out a compromise between the two groups.

The negotiations are rumoured to be focused around passing another deadline extension, which will allow both parties to draft a more detailed law concerning state budget.

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Failing to pass a budget is the only condition in the agreement signed by Netanyahu that requires him to hand over the prime ministership to Gantz, who currently serves at Defence minister.

However, it is rumoured that Netanyahu is looking to find a solution that will allow him to extend his tenure as prime minister by at least another year and a half by causing delays to the adoption of the budget.

The deadline for passing the budget is midnight, Tuesday.