https://time.com/5924341/israel-netanyahu-government-collapses/
Israel’s brittle
governing coalition collapsed after just seven months, sending the
election-fatigued country to its fourth vote in two years.
The
campaign will feature a new challenger who might win enough support to
dethrone the long-serving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, polls
suggest. The ballot is to take place on March 23 after parliament failed
to approve a national budget for the second year in a row.
The
grudging alliance between Netanyahu and Defense Minister Benny Gantz
had been formed expressly to avoid another vote after three inconclusive
matchups, and to combine forces to contain the coronavirus outbreak. A
fourth race, after long months of policy paralysis, will be especially
bruising as the virus defies efforts to tame it, talk of a third
national lockdown is percolating, and unemployment is a steep 15%.