Benjamin Netanyahu failed to meet a midnight deadline to form a new government. Photograph: Sebastian Scheiner/AP

Netanyahu coalition talks fail, Israel hold new elections

Benjamin Netanyahu has failed to form a government which has lead to the second round of elections right after one month the country held a national poll.
The Knesset voted to disperse and call new elections on 17 September at a suspenseful gathering which ended weeks of unsuccessful bartering and brinkmanship.

After the Knesset vote, the prime minister slammed Lieberman, a Netanyahu ally-turned-rival, saying that Netanyahu has dragged the country to unnecessary elections due to his own ego.

Israel has never held two elections in a year. Netanyahu is now risking himself to lose in the second national vote in September. He will remain as a leader until a new government is formed. Furthermore, if he remains in office through July, Netanyahu will become Israel’s longest-serving leader.

To win the election, Netanyahu needed the 16 seats from ultra-Orthodox parties for a 61-seat of parliament’s 120 seats. The same thing happened four years ago when Netanyahu struggled to form a coalition and at that time, Lieberman held up the process over the same issue.

However, this time the 69-year-old Netanyahu was under additional pressure to form a government as he faces indictments for bribery, fraud, and breach of trust in three different cases.