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Why Gantz needed to replace Netanyahu's Knesset speaker

If Blue and White leader Benny Gantz caves in to the Likud and lets them have the position of Knesset speaker, he would significantly weaken the Israeli parliament and damage Israel’s democracy.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein arrive at a ceremony marking the annual Israeli Holocaust Remembrance Day at the Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem, April 12, 2018. Debbie Hill/Pool via Reuters - RC14F3B0A970

Negotiations between interim Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White leader Benny Gantz on forming Israel’s next government are ongoing, and among the unresolved issues is the identity of the next Knesset speaker.

Just two weeks ago, the Blue and White party, led by Gantz, along with its allied parties —​ Labor-Meretz, Yisrael Beitenu and the Arab Joint List — led a successful move (with the Supreme Court’s help) to replace Speaker Yuli Edelstein of the Likud party. At the time, Gantz thought replacing Edelstein was a vital move for him and his party to start their work in the Knesset and serve the citizens of Israel.

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