Israeli PM accepts deal to avoid new elections
CGTN

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Sunday he has agreed to postpone a looming budget deadline, preventing the fourth national elections in less than two years. 

"Now is the time for unity, not for elections," he said in a broadcast press conference. 

Netanyahu said he will back a bill to push the deadline for approval of the state budget by 100 days. "This compromise deal is the right answer to the Israeli economy at this time," he said. 

To address the COVID-19 crisis, Netanyahu, Likud party leader and Benny Gantz, leader of the centrist Blue and White party reached a power-sharing agreement in April to form a government.

Under Israeli law, if the government does not approve a state budget within 90 days after it is formed, the parliament automatically dissolves. The deadline this time would have expired on Monday night. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures as he gives a statement at Ben Gurion International Airport, in Lod, near Tel Aviv, Israel August 17, 2020. /Reuters

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures as he gives a statement at Ben Gurion International Airport, in Lod, near Tel Aviv, Israel August 17, 2020. /Reuters

Blue and White party earlier accused Netanyahu of manipulation and "spitting in the face of the Israeli public."

"We call upon the prime minister to get in line and come back to seeing the good of the country rather than his own personal good," the party said in a statement.

Now, the new bill would give the power-sharing government 100 more days to reach an agreement over the budget. 

Netanyahu is facing a criminal trial over charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust in three separate cases. He has denied any wrongdoing. 

His trial began in June but he has refused to step down from office, despite weekly protests where tens of thousands of Israelis across the country call him to resign. 

Israel officially reached a tally of more than 100,000 coronavirus cases on Friday.

(With input from Xinhua)