Benny Gantz (left) and Benjamin Netanyahu in the Israeli parliament, Nov. 10, 2019. (Photo/JTA-Yonatan Sindel-Flash90)
Benny Gantz (left) and Benjamin Netanyahu in the Israeli parliament, Nov. 10, 2019. (Photo/JTA-Yonatan Sindel-Flash90)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz signed a deal Monday to form a “national emergency government” that keeps Netanyahu as the prime minister for now.

Israel has spent more than a year under a caretaker government as neither Netanyahu nor Gantz could assemble a coalition government. With the agreement, the country avoids a fourth national election in less than a year and a half.

Following two meetings on Monday, the two parties released a brief statement saying that “an agreement for the establishment of a national emergency government” was being signed. The announcement provided no details, though Hebrew-language media reported some details, including that Netanyahu would remain as prime minister and Gantz would be prime minister-designate.

Netanyahu and Gantz are expected to give statements later on Monday evening, which is the start of Yom HaShoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day.

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Israel-based JTA correspondent

This content is distributed by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency news service.