Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's chief rival has been chosen as the new speaker of parliament, an unexpected step that could pave the way for a power-sharing deal between the two as the country grapples with a worsening coronavirus crisis.

The sudden turnabout on Thursday by Benny Gantz, who has spent the past year trying to topple Netanyahu in three bitter and inconclusive elections, appeared to give the embattled premier a new lease on life as he prepares to go on trial for corruption charges. It also drew angry criticism from his political partners, who accused him of betrayal, and ripped apart his Blue and White party, an alliance of three anti-Netanyahu factions.

The vote passed 74-18, with many of Gantz's former allies, including half of Blue and White, skipping the vote.

"Democracy has won," Gantz declared in his first speech as speaker, saying he had taken the unpopular step to deal with the national emergency.

"These are not regular days and they demand irregular decisions. Therefore as I said, I intend to examine and advance in every way the establishment of a national emergency government," he said."We will not compromise on the principles that more than 1 million citizens voted for. Netanyahu knows that well."

But in a series of speeches ahead of the vote, a string of opposition lawmakers who had all previously backed Gantz streamed into the empty parliament chamber one after another to rail against him. Only a few people were allowed in at a time due to restrictions on public gatherings because of the virus.

"This is a dark day," said Nitzan Horowitz, leader of the liberal Meretz party, in a speech before the vote."There are no other ways to describe the runaround going on here."

Broad coalition

Israeli media reported that Gantz and Netanyahu were working on forming a broad coalition in which Netanyahu would remain as prime minister and Gantz' party would be granted a number of important portfolios, including defense and justice. In September 2021, Netanyahu would step down and Gantz would become prime minister, the reports said.

There was no immediate comment on the reports from Gantz' party. Netanyahu's dismissed the reports as "rumors", though its members backed Gantz in the parliament vote.

It was believed that the raging coronavirus has become a game-changer this time. Otherwise, the country was destined for a fourth election within a year.

"Everyone was looking for a ladder to climb down the tree from," said Eran Vigoda-Gadot, a professor of political science and governance at the University of Haifa.

"Most of the actors could not think of a fourth election, ... but the longest ladder was the coronavirus which essentially saved the country from a fourth election.

"In politics, anything is possible. The crisis will take a while to blow over and at the very least it will keep the government in place for the first 18 months."

As of Thursday, eight Israelis have died from the virus with over 2,600 others infected; 41 are in a serious condition. The country has been under an almost complete lockdown for several days.

The political fireworks came just as the government enacted the new restrictions requiring Israelis to stay at home in almost all circumstances, under threat of fines.