Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for direct prime ministerial elections in Israel on Saturday night as a way to avoid having to send Israelis to a third round of national elections that would require the dissolution of the Knesset and a complete new campaign for every lawmaker.
“If the Blue and White party does not and will not agree to a national unity government, we must go to the citizens of Israel and let them make a direct choice for prime minister, Netanyahu and Gantz,” he said.
אם בכחול לבן לא יתעשתו ולא יסכימו לממשלת אחדות, צריך ללכת לאזרחי ישראל ולתת להם לבחור בבחירה ישירה את ראש הממשלה: נתניהו או גנץ. pic.twitter.com/QOIhjrQX12
— Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu)
“There is one more thing that can be done to prevent an unnecessary third round of national elections,” Netanyahu said: “That is, to choose a direct election for a prime minister between Benny Gantz and me.
“In Blue and White, you always say that you know what the people want. So I say a simple thing: Let the people decide.
“Let the people choose who will lead them. Let the people decide, and no one else; not the media, either.”