Defense Minister Benny Gantz released a video Tuesday evening, several hours before the expiration of Prime Minister Netanyahu's mandate to form the government, calling on Netanyahu to stop the "scheming and spin-doctoring."

"Citizens of Israel, in a few hours the mandate that the Honorable President gave to Benjamin Netanyahu to form a government will expire. These are last and most critical hours," he said.

He said, "As is his custom in the Holy Land, Netanyahu continues to harass the public directly and through his emissaries, the Knesset and other places with the aim of gaining more time by another exercise and another ploy."

"Netanyahu, I turn to you - if the State of Israel is really important to you, stop the scheming, stop the spin-doctoring," Gantz added.

"You will not be able to continue to lie to everyone - not your political partners and especially not those for whom you are supposed to work, the citizens of Israel. For them, stop breaking and destroying Israeli democracy, stop dividing and dismantling society from within - that is not why you are prime minister," he added.

Gantz then addressed the chairman of the Yamina chairman. “I turn to you Naftali Bennett - I know you are a man of values. I know that the State of Israel is important to you. I know that the promise of the continued existence of the Jewish people is burning in your bones. Precisely for these reasons, you must announce today that you are joining the government of change and support the granting of the mandate to MK Yair Lapid."

"Listen to me, do not fall into the trap they seek to bury you in. You are a man of values ​​- do not let Netanyahu trample you. I spoke today with the heads of the parties that make up the bloc of change and called on everyone to recommend to the President MK Knesset Lapid for the mandate to form the government. I also turned to those who refrained from recommending him in the first round," Gantz said.

He said, "The citizens of Israel have been suffered blow after blow: plague, unemployment, ugly politics, loss of confidence in the government and division of the people. The red line is behind us. We can finish everything in a few hours, we have a duty to form a government as quickly as possible for the sake of the State of Israel for all its citizens."