Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu to form new government

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin tapped Benjamin Netanyahu to form a new government following elections that left Israel in a political impasse.

“I have decided to give you, sir, the opportunity to assemble a government,” Rivlin said to Netanyahu at a nomination ceremony.

The president’s decision came after efforts to form a unity government of Netanyahu’s Likud party and the Blue and White party’s Benny Gantz failed.

In the new count, Likud has the pledged support of 55 legislators in the 120-member parliament, against 54 for Gantz’s centrist Blue and White Party. Netanyahu now has 28 days to form a government. Should he fail to get a majority on his side, Gantz would likely be tasked with cobbling together a coalition.

Read more: End of the Netanyahu era? Worn-out Israel wakes up to political turmoil

kmm/sms (AP, Reuters, AFP)

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