With Three Days Left to Deadline, Netanyahu Rival Gantz Scrambles to Form Gov’t

With three days left until his mandate to form a government expires, Kahol Lavan leader Benny Gantz scrambles between meetings with party heads on Sunday in an attempt to secure the necessary seats for a coalition, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party braces for the possible indictment of its chairman.

On Saturday Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned against the possibility that Gantz will establish a minority government by Arab lawmakers. "We are facing an emergency that is unprecedented in the history of the State of Israel," he said.

Likud said it will hold an "emergency rally" on Sunday in Tel Aviv to protest "a minority government supported by the Arab parties."

Kahol Lavan's negotiation team is slated to meet on Sunday with representatives from Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu, as well as ones from Labor-Gesher. Meanwhile, the Likud-led right-wing bloc is also meeting Sunday ahead of a possible sit-down between Netanyahu and Lieberman later in the day.

2:21 P.M. Joint List officials say negotiations on minority gov't haven't started

Factions within Kahol Lavan are in disagreement over the make-up of a minority government, with some still preferring unity with Likud, Joint List officials told Haaretz on Sunday.

Another disputed issue in Gantz's party, the officials said, is whether Lieberman would support or abstain from a vote on a minority government supported by the Joint List. Once these two matters are settled, the alliance would be open to hearing a proposal, they said.