Netanyahu fails to form new government

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin gave opposition centrist Yair Lapid the mandate to form a new governing coalition Wednesday after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to do so by the end of his four-week deadline. Netanyahu’s ultranationalist Jewish political partners failed to accept the much-needed support of an Arab Islamist party under the coalition.

What comes next? Lapid, whose Yesh Atid party won 17 seats in the March election, has received four weeks to create a coalition. The 57-year-old centrist worked as a journalist and has served on the opposition for the last six years. Lapid pledged to secure a diverse coalition and already offered a deal to Naftali Bennett, leader of the right-wing Yamina party. The agreement could see them rotate the role of prime minister, with Bennet going first. If Lapid also fails, the parliament would get three weeks to present a prime ministerial candidate, or the country would face its fifth election in just over two years.

Dig deeper: Read Marvin Olasky’s Q&A with Ze’ev Chafets on the state of Israeli politics.