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		</div><p>Israel’s president says he has given opposition leader Benny Gantz the first opportunity to form a new government, following an inconclusive national election earlier this month.</p>
<p>Reuven Rivlin’s office announced the president’s decision late on Sunday after he consulted with leaders of all of the parties elected to parliament.</p>
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<p>The president had summoned prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his challenger Mr Gantz to an emergency meeting, ahead of his decision about who should lead Israel’s next government.</p>
<p>It was hoped the meeting would break the deadlock that has paralysed the political system for the past year and could threaten the country’s response to the coronavirus crisis</p>
<figure id="attachment_151866" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-151866" style="width: 600px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img src="https://londonglossy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/27FE3F77-2F02-49AF-A6C7-BEF0B698DB1E.jpeg" alt="" width="600" height="400" class="size-full wp-image-151866" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-151866" class="wp-caption-text">Israel’s president Reuven Rivlin summoned the two men to his residence on Sunday</figcaption></figure>
<p>The decision raises questions about Mr Netanyahu’s political future.</p>
<p>His Likud emerged as the largest party in the March 2 election, Israel’s third in under a year.</p>
<p>But with his smaller religious and nationalist allies, he received the support of only 58 politicians during Sunday’s consultations, leaving Likud three seats short of the required majority in parliament.</p>
<p>Mr Gantz’s Blue and White party received the support of parties representing 61 seats, a slim majority.</p>
<p>But those parties are also divided, and it is not clear whether Mr Gantz will succeed in putting together a coalition.</p>
<p>He will now have a month to cobble together a governing coalition.</p>
<p>Mr Netanyahu, in his caretaker role, had invited Mr Gantz to join him in an emergency government.</p>
<p>Mr Gantz had left the door open to such an arrangement, but also dismissed the offers as insincere.</p>
<p>Facing a difficult decision, Mr Rivlin had earlier implored for a power-sharing unity deal.</p>
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<p>He said: “Anyone who has watched the news in recent days understands that this is a time of trial, and that these are not regular consultations.</p>
<p>“We must now deal with forming a government as soon as possible … at this complex time.”</p>
<p>Over the past week, the coronavirus outbreak has overshadowed the country’s precarious political standoff — which comes as Mr Netanyahu prepares to go on trial for corruption charges.</p>
<figure id="attachment_151865" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-151865" style="width: 600px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img src="https://londonglossy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/6EF93938-3C05-49E0-88A3-827395507F8F.jpeg" alt="" width="600" height="400" class="size-full wp-image-151865" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-151865" class="wp-caption-text">An empty shopping street in Hadera in Israel following the imposition of tough new restrictions to try and slow the spread of the new coronavirus</figcaption></figure>
<p>Mr Netanyahu got an important reprieve on Sunday when the Jerusalem court handling the case postponed his trial for two months because of restrictions connected to the coronavirus outbreak.</p>
<p>Mr Netanyahu was scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday to face charges of fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in connection to a series of scandals.</p>
<p>But following the emergency health measures the government enacted restricting the gathering of people in public places, the court announced that it was pushing back the hearing until May 24.</p>
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<p>Much of the country ground to a standstill on Sunday, with schools, shopping centres and places of entertainment shut down.</p>
<p>Employees were encouraged to work from home and strict restrictions have been placed on personal interactions.</p>
<p>The virus has spread to more than 100 countries, infected more than 150,000 people worldwide and killed more than 5,700.</p>
<p>In Israel, some 200 people have been infected with no casualties yet, as severe measures seem to have proven effective so far.</p>
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