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Israel: Last act before fourth elections

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plays for time before making the decision whether to join a unity government with Blue and White’s Benny Gantz or go for broke and generate a fourth set of elections.
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As of midnight April 15, Israeli politicians have 21 days to avert the country’s fourth consecutive elections.

To recap: Following the third elections on March 2, President Reuven Rivlin gave Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz first crack at forming a government within 28 days. Gantz failed. Rivlin decided he would only hand the mandate to someone endorsed by 61 Knesset members (out of 120). And so, he skipped over Interim Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who does not have the required number of endorsements, continuing to the final leg of the electoral process. Thus, Rivlin handed the mandate to the Knesset.

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