The pair have until Wednesday to complete a deal in which they are expected to each serve two years as prime minister on rotation.<\/p>\n
A self-made millionaire, Mr Bennett, 49, is a former Netanyahu aide turned rival.<\/p>\n
He said it was his intention to “do my utmost in order to form a national unity government along with my friend Yair Lapid, so that, God willing, together we can save the country from a tailspin and return Israel to its course.”<\/p>\n
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A unity government would end the cycle of deadlock that has plunged the country into four inconclusive elections over the past two years<\/strong>.<\/p>\n It would also end, at least for the time being, the record-setting tenure of Mr Netanyahu, the most dominant figure in Israeli politics over the past three decades. He is currently on trial for corruption<\/strong>.<\/p>\n In a televised statement, Mr Netanyahu accused Mr Bennett of betraying the Israeli right wing.<\/p>\n “A government like this is a danger to the security of Israel<\/strong>, and is also a danger to the future of the state,” he said.<\/p>\n But Mr Bennett said he was taking the dramatic step to prevent yet another election.<\/p>\n While sharing Mr Netanyahu’s nationalist ideology, Mr Bennett said there was no feasible way for the hard-line right wing to form a governing majority in parliament.<\/p>\n “A government like this will succeed only if we work together as a group,” he said.<\/p>\n He said everyone “will need to postpone fulfilling all their dreams.<\/p>\n “We will focus on what can be done, instead of fighting all day on what’s impossible.”<\/p>\n Mr Netanyahu is desperate to stay in power while he is on trial. He has used his office as a stage to rally support and lash out against police, prosecutors and the media.<\/p>\n If his opponents fail to form a government and new elections are triggered, it would give him another chance at seeing the election of a parliament that is in favour of granting him immunity from prosecution.<\/p>\n But if they succeed, he would find himself in the much weaker position of opposition leader and potentially find himself facing unrest in his Likud party.<\/p>\n In order to form a government, a party leader must secure the support of a 61-seat majority in parliament.<\/p>\n Because no single party controls a majority on its own, coalitions are usually built with smaller partners.<\/p>\n As leader of the largest party, Mr Netanyahu was given the first opportunity by the country’s figurehead president to form a coalition. But he was unable to secure a majority with his traditional religious and nationalist allies.<\/p>\n Mr Netanyahu even attempted to court a small Islamist Arab party but was thwarted by a small ultranationalist party with a racist anti-Arab agenda.<\/p>\n Although Arabs make up some 20% of Israel’s population, an Arab party has never before sat in an Israeli coalition government.<\/p>\n After Mr Netanyahu’s failure to form a government, Mr Lapid was then given four weeks to cobble together a coalition.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/21\/05\/768x432\/skynews-benjamin-netanyahu_5400555.jpg\")
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