Gantz phones Bennett, who vows not to meet Blue and White chief until he renounces Joint List

Gantz also phones Defense Minister Naftali Bennett, a member of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc, after being formally tasked by President Reuven Rivlin with forming the next government.

Like with Liberman and Gantz, Gantz tells Bennett he is committed to forming as broad a government as possible to deal with the current challenges Israel is facing, according to a statement from Blue and White.

“Gantz invited Bennett to meet and told him he is willing to assist him in his position as much as needed at this time,” the statement says.

Bennett, who heads the national-religious Yamina party, responds that he won’t meet with Gantz until the Blue and White chief renounces the support of the majority-Arab Joint List, a statement from the defense minister says.

The Yamina leader also calls on Gantz to immediately join a “national emergency government” led by Netanyahu to deal with the coronavirus outbreak, “after which the political system will return to the present situation.”

Bennett was appointed as defense minister by Netanyahu in November, a move members of the premier’s Likud party have acknowledged was aimed at keeping him from joining a Gantz-led coalition after the previous round of elections.