Israeli parliament to head into third elections

With only hours to go until the final deadline to form a government in Israel runs out, chances of a third election within a year looked all but unavoidable on Wednesday as lawmakers continue to deadlock.  

The two largest parties in Israel’s 120-seat parliament - caretaker Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud and Benny Gantz’s centrist Blue and White - have agreed on March 2 as the date for the third election if no last-minute agreement on a governing coalition is reached before the deadline at midnight (2200 GMT).  

The parliament will pass legislation on the election date on Wednesday, Speaker of the Knesset Yuli Edelstein has said.  

A third election within under a year is unprecedented in Israel and attests to the intensity of the political stalemate in the country.  While Netanyahu has failed twice to form a majority coalition in the wake of April 9 and September 17 elections, Gantz has failed once.  

Tel Aviv (dpa), 11 Dec, 2019