Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his main rival, Blue and White leader Benny Gantz, opened a new round of unity talks Sunday in the latest effort to break a political stalemate and avoid an unprecedented third parliamentary election in less than a year.
After nearly a month of efforts, Netanyahu last week said he had failed to cobble together a coalition.
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President Reuven Rivlin has now given the task to Gantz, who met with Netanyahu in Tel Aviv to discuss a possible power-sharing agreement. Blue and White issued a statement that the two discussed possible options and agreed to a second meeting.
The closed meeting between Gantz and Netanyahu was to address the "existing political possibilities," a joint statement by the Blue and White and Likud parties read as the meeting ended, slightly before 7 p.m. local time.
The two have agreed to meet again and to have the parties' negotiating teams continue their discussions.
Ahead of the talks, Netanyahu expressed support for a "broad national unity government." Speaking to his cabinet, Netanyahu said such a coalition is essential for Israel to face what he said were mounting security challenges around the region.
"We must make tough decisions that require a government with broad shoulders," he said. "This is not a political question, but a national and security question of the highest order. I hope that we can advance this goal in the coming days."
With Blue and White controlling 33 seats in parliament and Likud holding 32, the two parties together have enough support to form a government together. While both men support the idea of a unity deal, they have disagreed over who should lead it.
Netanyahu wants his traditional ultra-Orthodox and right-wing allies to sit with Likud and Blue and White. Gantz has been cool to sitting with them, and also refuses to serve under a Netanyahu-led government while the long-serving leader faces possible indictment for corruption charges. Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit is to decide on whether to charge Netanyahu in the coming weeks.
Ahead of their meeting, negotiators from the two parties met for preparatory talks that were "held in good spirits," according to a Blue and White statement.
It is the first time in more than a decade that a candidate other than Netanyahu has been given the opportunity to form a government.
But without Likud, Gantz's options are limited. He can try to break up Netanyahu's right-wing bloc and win over smaller hard-line parties. So far, there is no sign of that happening.
His remaining potential partners include a diverse group of parties that have little in common, including the secular-nationalist Yisrael Beytenu party, dovish Jewish parties and a grouping of Arab parties, which have never sat in a government before.
The country has faced political paralysis since Yisrael Beytenu Chairman Avigdor Lieberman refused to sit in a government with Netanyahu's ultra-Orthodox partners following April's election. That decision robbed Netanyahu of a parliamentary majority, leading to last month's inconclusive election.
Lieberman has refused to endorse either candidate for prime minister and demands they reach a unity deal. If the sides fail, Israel could face a third election early next year.
