Netanyahu, Gantz agree to form emergency Israeli unity government

Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz have agreed to form an emergency unity government as Israel continues to battle the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. Netanyahu will remain prime minister for the time being, and opponent Gantz will wait for 18 months to serve his turn.

On Monday, the Likud and Blue and White parties (the parties of Netanyahu and Gantz, respectively) issued a statement declaring that an agreement had been signed after several weeks of conversations. 

Last week, Netanyahu and Gantz missed a deadline to reach an agreement for what their unity government would look like, increasing the likelihood that Israel would need to hold another election, which would have been its fourth in just over a year. 

Gantz narrowly won election last month, and was issued a mandate to form a government by Israeli President Reuven Rivlin. The mandate lapsed last week, which strengthened Netanyahu's position in government. This agreement will prevent Israelis from having to turn out to the polls a fourth time, but also undermines a major tenet of Gantz's campaign, which was to remove Netanyahu from government. 

The two leaders are set to meet again this evening.