Tel Aviv: Israel will head for the polls but for the third general election in less than a year after the two largest parties of the Jewish country failed to make a power-sharing deal before the deadline.
Incumbent prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who heads the right-wing Likud party, and his main rival Benny Gantz, former army chief and leader of the centrist Blue and White alliance, were unable to build a governing coalition following an indecisive September general election. It is the second time this year that the leading parties failed to form a government after a national vote, CNN reported.
Until the midnight of Wednesday, the Knesset failed to reach a conclusion as to which politician could command the support of 61 out of 120 members of Israel’s parliament. Naturally it paved a way for an election in March 2020 after it lacked minimum backing.
Netanyahu is also facing criminal indictment on charges if bribery and fraud and breach of trust in three separate criminal investigations. Due to this he is also facing a challenge within his own Likud party- a leadership contest is tentatively scheduled for December 26th.
If Netanyahu remains the head of the party, he will have a confrontation against his political rival, former IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz.
