JERUSALEM — Seven weeks after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared “a night of tremendous victory” in Israel’s election, his failure to form a government by midnight Wednesday has turned into a stunning debacle for him and thrust Israel into a new election. Israelis will return to the ballot box in about three months, the first time in the country’s history that it has been forced to hold a new national election because of a failure to form a government after the previous one. The Israeli Parliament voted to disperse itself early Thursday, only a month after being sworn in, with a majority of 74 in favor and 45 against in the 120-seat body. One member was absent. The vote sets in motion a new election and casts a cloud over the future of Mr. Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister for the last decade.

Source: New York Times May 29, 2019 15:12 UTC