Israel tries to form a government again

Israeli opposition leader Benny Gantz will get the first opportunity to form a new government, Israel’s president announced on Sunday. President Reuben Rivlin’s position is largely ceremonial, but it is up to him to decide who has the best chance of pulling together a ruling coalition.

Why is this so difficult? Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party won the most seats in the country’s third inconclusive election earlier this month. But with his smaller religious and nationalist allies, he received the support of only 58 lawmakers during Sunday’s consultations, leaving Likud three seats short of the required majority. Meanwhile, Gantz’s Blue and White party gained the support of parties representing a slim majority of 61 seats, but those parties also are divided, making it unclear whether he can pull together a coalition.

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