“I don’t know where you are taking us,” hissed Shas Chairman and Interior Minister Aryeh Deri to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a harsh conversation they recently conducted. Al-Monitor received this information, on condition of anonymity, from a high-placed Likud minister in whom Deri confided.

Deri, the key mediator between Netanyahu and Blue and White Chairman Benny Gantz, encouraged the sides to form a ‘"unity coronavirus government" as soon as possible. The second go-between was No. 2 in Blue and White, former Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi, who in fact conducted the initial contacts with Deri. Ashkenazi was in favor of a unity government, even at the cost of dismantling Blue and White. He invested much effort and put out innumerable feelers to lower the levels of suspicion and anger that Gantz had accumulated toward Netanyahu in the wild, unruly March election campaign.

In Ashkenazi’s talks with Deri, the Shas chairman promised Ashkenazi that he be personally and directly responsible for ensuring that Netanyahu would carry out his campaign promises. Deri mollified Ashkenazi and told him that he believed Netanyahu was serious this time, and wanted to avert a fourth election campaign.

As we recall, the beginning was promising. When Blue and White fell apart on March 26, Gantz was free to open a coalition negotiations process with Netanyahu. In these personal talks, Netanyahu exhibited willingness to compromise and turned on his personal charm. But as time went on, it emerged that every time it seemed that the negotiations were about to end with a signature on the dotted coalition agreement, Netanyahu would come up with yet another sticking point. Gantz’ negotiations staff, who spent long hours in the official Balfour residence and had direct access to Netanyahu and his staff, were exhausted and depleted. Netanyahu demanded guarantees so that the High Court would not disqualify him from serving as prime minister or later as deputy prime minister in a rotation agreement. Blue and White’s people proposed more and more creative judicial solutions that they placed on Netanyahu’s desk, out of their desire to arm him with the legal security net he requested. However, Gantz repeatedly saw how the prime minister could not be placated.