“President Reuven Rivlin chose him to try to cobble together a coalition, opening the door to a continued shift to the right for Israel and offering a potential political lifeline to Mr. Netanyahu, who faces a looming indictment for corruption.”

“The report, which was not sourced, said that after Netanyahu agreed, Gantz debated the idea but ultimately rejected it. The report described the proposal accepted by Netanyahu but rejected by Gantz as amounting to a situation in which the two men ‘would serve as prime minister simultaneously.’ However, Rivlin in public on Wednesday did not specify such an arrangement. Rather, the president said he had proposed a ‘paritetic”’ unity government in which all responsibilities would be equally divided, and arrangements by which an ‘interim prime minister’ would enjoy all prime ministerial authority if the prime minister was forced to take a leave of absence.”

“The president chose the current prime minister over his main rival, Benny Gantz, whose Blue and White party came in first in the Sept. 17 elections with 33 seats to the Likud’s 32. Rivlin’s decision comes after several meetings organized by the president aimed at getting the two to form a unity government failed. The negotiations reached a deadlock after Netanyahu insisted that all his partners from the right and religious parties be included. This is the second time Israel has held legislative elections in five months; last week’s election was set after Netanyhu failed to assemble a majority coalition following the April poll.”

“Chairman of the Arab Joint List, Ayman Odeh, said Wednesday that he was contacted by Kahol Lavan lawmaker, Ofer Shelah, who asked that only 10 members of his party endorse Benny Gantz during consultations with President Reuven Rivlin over who should get the mandate to attempt to form a governing coalition.”

“No gala or state event is currently being planned to mark the 25th anniversary of the Israel-Jordan peace treaty next month, in another sign that relations between the two neighbors have become increasingly chilly.”

Visualizing Palestine announced the launch of “Visualizing Palestine 101” #VP101, a brand new data-led visual resource and educational hub designed for people learning and teaching about Palestine.

“Erdan spoke alongside U.S. Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating Anti-Semitism Elan Carr at a news conference to launch the report, titled ‘Behind the Mask: The Anti-Semitic Nature of BDS Exposed,’ that urges world leaders to stop funding groups linked to the movement. ‘I am here to express the United States’ position that this is anti-Semitism, and we stand unequivocally with the State of Israel in combatting this scourge,’ Carr said.”