Following Binyamin Netanyahu’s returning of the mandate to form a government to President Ruvi Rivlin on Sunday night, Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz will be given the mandate by the President to form a government on Wednesday evening. He will then have 28 days to accomplish his mission after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu failed to form a coalition while he had the mandate.

President Rivlin called all of the party leaders and asked their opinions before deciding to give Gantz the mandate, but as each party leader held to their previous position after the most recent elections, the President decided to give Gantz the opportunity and responsibility to form the government.

Yisrael Beiteinu party leader Avigdor Lieberman stayed adamant to his position that his party would only jon a unity government that included Likud and Blue and White and did not include Arab parties or Charedi parties. They therefore continued to refuse to nominate any party leader for Prime Minister.

Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke about his inability to form a government for the second time. “I told the President that I was unable to form a government. Over the past few weeks, I have tried everything to bring Benny Gantz to the table to create a dialogue and discuss how we can form a government. I tried everything to form a broad national unity government, everything to prevent another round of elections. Sadly, he simply refused time and time again.”

Representatives from the Blue and White party responded and said: “The time for spins in the media is over. Now  is the time for action. Blue and White is fortified and ready to form a liberal national unity government. This is what the nation voted for.”

Gantz, like Netanyahu before him, will have 28 days to form a government. According to the sources in Blue and White, “the party will first attempt to speak with Likud and then with Yisrael Beiteinu. Following that they will speak with all of the parties in the Knesset, even those that won’t sit with us, including the Arab parties.”

Due to Gantz’s receiving of the mandate, he will be assigned a police escort and round-the-clock security. Head Officer of the police contingent for the Knesset, Yossi Greif, will be responsible for Gantz’s escort.

In a Gantz-led government, Gantz would rotate the premiership with MK Yair Lapid. There is opposition to such a reality, albeit small, but the Knesset Guard has evaluated the situation and decided to provide Gantz with a security detail based on the Israel Police recommendation.

Until now, the ISA (Israel Security Agency/Shin Bet), which is responsible for providing security for senior state officials, has not been protecting Gantz since he does not have any official post demanding he be provided with a security detail. The Knesset Ministerial Committee for Security did not discuss security for Gantz and therefore, the agency has not provided agents to remain at his side.

However, now, after Israel Police has recommended that he receive a security detail after receiving the presidential mandate, the Commander of the Knesset Guard, Commissioner Yossi Graph, has ordered a security detail for Gantz beginning on Wednesday evening.