This archive report was first published on 12 December 2019.
Israel's parliament has started the process of dissolving itself and calling a new election, a move that could see the country's weary electorate head to the polls for the third time in 12 months.
The move comes after talks between Premier Benjamin Netanyahu and his centrist rival, Benny Gantz, broke down ahead of a midnight deadline on Wednesday.
Netanyahu and Gantz, both of whom have failed to build a governing majority in the Knesset, or parliament, since a deadlocked vote in September, have spent days trading blame for the failing coalition talks.
On Wednesday morning, the Israeli parliament passed a preliminary reading of a bill to dissolve parliament and set a new election for March 2, with a 50-0 vote.
Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving premier, now governing in a caretaker capacity, faces another challenge at a time when he must fend off a leadership vote in his right-wing Likud party.
However, the move may also be seen as a victory for Netanyahu, who faced the risk of major defections from his right-wing bloc when he was indicted on corruption charges last month.
Netanyahu and Gantz had been discussing a potential unity government, but disagreed on who should lead it.
Gantz has demanded Netanyahu publicly declare he would not seek parliamentary immunity as a precondition to further talks.
"It now seems that we will be going into a third election cycle today because of Netanyahu's attempt to obtain immunity," Gantz told lawmakers on Wednesday. "We must stand in opposition to this."
