Israel set for more gridlock

Embattled Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu so far lacks the votes for a fifth term in office. With 90 percent of the vote tallied after Monday’s election, his Likud party and its allies held 59 of 120 seats in parliament, two seats short of the 61 needed for the necessary majority. The opposition Blue and White party, led by retired Gen. Benny Gantz, won only 36 seats.

Will this end the stalemate? Netanyahu and thousands of his supporters celebrated on Monday, but Israel likely is headed for its fourth election since April of last year. The nation has had a caretaker government since the prime minister called for new elections in December 2018 because lawmakers could not reach an agreement on controversial legislation. Since then, neither Netanyahu nor Gantz have won a majority of seats in the Israeli parliament or managed to form a governing coalition with other parties. Netanyahu goes on trial for corruption charges on March 17.

Dig deeper: Read Harvest Prude’s report in The Stew on shifting U.S. attitudes toward Israel.