If an agreement is not signed within the allotted 48 hours, President Reuven Rivlin has indicated that he will not pass on the 28-day mandate to Benjamin Netanyahu, who does not have the 61 recommendations needed to form a majority government, and will instead open the recommendations in Knesset with the first member to receive a majority of 61 recommendations receiving a mandate.

Kachol Lavan (Blue and White) party leader Benny Gantz has until midnight on Wednesday to sign an agreement with Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud to form a ‘’unity emergency government.’’

After being granted by President Reuven Rivlin a 48-hour extension of his mandate to form a government, unity talks resumed between the two parties’negotiating teams.

Following a late-night meeting on Monday at the Prime Minister’s residence in Jerusalem as Gantz’s mandate ran out, the political rivals made a joint request to Israeli President Reuven Rivlin for an extension in order to continue unity talks, which was accepted “on the understanding that they are very close to reaching an agreement between them.”

On Sunday, President Rivlin had denied Gantz’s 14-day extension request.

After talks throughout the day Tuesday, Blue and White and Likud issued a joint statement saying that Netanyahu and Gantz, and their teams, would “meet again after the (Passover) holiday with the aim of reaching an agreement on establishing a national emergency government.”

The statement gave no details on the talks and with the holiday ending Wednesday evening, that would give them just a few hours before Gantz’s mandate expires at midnight, after already receiving a 48-hour extension from President Reuven Rivlin.

In a unity government, Gantz and Netanyahu would likely share the premiership under a rotation agreement, with Netanyahu taking the role first in a continuation of his premiership for another 18 months.

If an agreement is not signed within the allotted 48 hours, Rivlin has indicated that he will not pass on the 28-day mandate to Netanyahu, who does not have the 61 recommendations needed to form a majority government, and will instead open the recommendations in Knesset with the first member to receive a majority of 61 recommendations receiving a mandate.

If there is no candidate within 21 days, Israel would go to fourth elections.