Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White leader Benny Gantz have been negotiating the establishment of an emergency government for almost a week now. Talks seem to have reached a serious impasse, threatening the whole project. At the crux of the gridlock is a diplomatic disaccord.

The Likud insists on implementing Israeli sovereignty over West Bank lands, as a direct continuation of US President Donald Trump’s peace plan and without any complications from Blue and White. Blue and White refuses, having rejected a compromise proposal by which when the time comes and when such an initiative is put before the Knesset, each party will vote independently. Gantz demands veto rights on all diplomatic decisions.

Senior Blue and White sources indicated this morning that they will enter a unity government only if the party can preserve its principle stances. Some party members threatened that if negotiations do not advance rapidly, they will once again seek legislation against an indicted Knesset member serving as prime minister.

These developments come after rather productive unity talks last weekend and the general impression that the emergency government was already a done deal, with only few points of disagreement to overcome. The official dismantlement of Blue and White into three Knesset factions and the coronavirus crisis have apparently boosted Netanyahu’s negotiating position, enabling him to set harsher conditions.