Israel will now head to its fourth elections in two years, probably on March 23 next year. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his erstwhile coalition partner, Blue and White leader Benny Gantz, sought to blame one another for the collapse of their seven-month-old government. "We do not want an election and we voted against it ... but we are not afraid of elections -- because we will win!" Under the deal, the prime ministership would have been rotated between the two party leaders: Netanyahu would serve first, and then give way to Gantz after 18 months. The only loophole in the complicated deal was if lawmakers failed to agree to a budget before Tuesday's midnight deadline -- a failure that has now come to pass.

Source: CNN December 22, 2020 22:07 UTC