Leader of the Blue and White Party, Benny Gantz, criticized heavily his own party, including his his number 2, Yair Lapid.
Channel 12 News reported that in closed conversations Gantz said "because of Yoaz Hendel and Tzvika Hauser, I'm not Prime Minister, and because of Lapid there was no possibility of unity."
Hendel and Hauser are part of Moshe Ya'alon's faction, the right wing of the Blue and White party, and they stopped Gantz creating a minority government with the Arab parties.
Gantz returned the mandate to form the government to President Reuven Rivlin Wednesday evening.