Sources close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday the premier is seeking to torpedo the transfer of the mandate to form a government to Yesh Atid chief Yair Lapid and force President Reuven Rivlin to pass the mandate directly to the Knesset.
According to sources, Netanyahu plans to get the entire right-wing bloc to recommend to Rivlin that an "out of field" candidate, apparently Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz, is tasked with forming a coalition. This would leave Lapid with only 45 recommendations as opposed to Steinitz's presumed 52, making it hard for the president to task the centrist Yesh Atid leader with the mandate.
Netanyahu's mandate is set to expire Tuesday at 00:00.