Israel heads for fourth election in two years

Israel’s coalition government failed to reach a compromise on the country’s budget ahead of a Tuesday night deadline. Members of the Likud and Blue and White parties also backed a narrow parliamentary vote late on Monday against delaying the budget deadline for another two weeks.

What does this mean for the country? If the coalition government does not conclude the budget by Tuesday night, the country’s laws will require the parliament to dissolve and trigger a snap election in 90 days. That would see Israelis turn out again to vote in March, the fourth time since 2019. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and his opponent Benny Gantz’ Blue and White party agreed to a three-year power-sharing deal in April. But both sides failed to conclude a 2020 national budget since then.

Dig deeper: Read Mindy Belz’s report on Israel’s crucial political tests during the pandemic.