President Rivlin urges deadlocked Israeli blocs to consider unity

Israel’s largely ceremonial president, Reuven Rivlin, urged the opposing blocs on Wednesday to find a way to come together in the wake of the third inconclusive election in less than a year.

The president is responsible for choosing the prime minister-designate he thinks has the best chance of forming a stable government. Upon officially receiving the results of last week’s vote, Rivlin said he was open to any proposal brought forward.

Rivlin will begin formal consultations with party leaders next week. The president took an active role in the previous round of talks and urged PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and challenger Benny Gantz’s Blue and White party to join together in a unity government, AP said.

Gantz refuses to sit in government with Netanyahu because of the prime minister’s pending corruption trial.