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Jerusalem (AP) - Israel's voters are expected to go to the polls in March for the fourth time within two years.
The alliance between the right-wing conservative Likud of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the center alliance Blue-White, which was shaky from the start, is about to end after only six months.
A final attempt at a compromise failed that night in parliament.
49 of the total of 120 MPs voted against a bill that postponed a deadline for the adoption of a budget for the current year by one week.
47 voted in favor, the rest abstained or absent.
Without a last-minute agreement, Parliament will automatically dissolve this evening at midnight.
In that case, there will be re-election on March 23rd.
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In the grand coalition of former rivals Netanyahu and Gantz, there was a lot of trouble from the start, and tensions have intensified recently.
Gantz, whose alliance is internally divided, increased his demands on Netanyahu on Monday.
He then accused him of forcing unnecessary elections on the country in the midst of the Corona crisis.
The coalition agreement stipulates that the government will adopt a budget for 2020 and 2021.
Netanyahu had withdrawn this commitment and only wanted a budget for 2020. The head of government himself named the extraordinary circumstances of the corona crisis as the reason.
However, critics assume that, among other things, he wanted to prevent Gantz from taking over the office of head of government from him in autumn 2021, as agreed.
Other points of contention were the appointment of judges and the powers of the Justice Minister von Blau-Weiß.
A corruption trial is underway against Netanyahu, and for months there have been repeated angry protests against him on the streets across the country.
He was also repeatedly criticized because of his corona policy.
Gantz has accused the 71-year-old of wanting to do everything possible to avoid conviction in his trial.
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In a new election, polls show that both Netanyahu and Gantz could do worse than before.
The new right-wing party Tikva Chadascha (New Hope), founded by Netanyahu's former party rival Gideon Saar, could also cost votes from the quarreling coalition partners.
Israel has elected a new parliament three times since April last year.
Netanyahu repeatedly failed to form a government, but remained in office at the head of a transitional government.
Under the pressure of the Corona crisis, the alliance with Blau-Weiß came about in May.
But from the start there was a crunch in the gears.
Although the coalition was actually designed as an equal partnership between Netanyahu and the ex-military chief, the Likud chief made the most important decisions single-handedly.
According to media reports, Netanyahu Gantz was in the dark during negotiations with the US mediation on rapprochement agreements with the Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco - in order to be able to shine alone.
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The politically inexperienced Gantz often appears weak and inferior to the cunning Netanyahu, who is considered the master of political intrigue.
Many political commentators are convinced that Netanyahu never really intended to hand Gantz over to the post of prime minister at halftime as agreed.
The alliance around Gantz, which wanted to replace Israel's longest-serving prime minister, has now crumbled.
In the case of a new election, blue-white must even fear whether it will make the 3.25 percent hurdle.
Many voters resent Gantz for breaking his election promise by forging an alliance with Netanyahu.
Netanyahu has to reckon with problems in forming a government after a poll in March.
According to surveys, the right-wing camp is stronger than ever.
However, it is fragmented between different parties, whose chairmen are all seen as bitter rivals of Netanyahu who want to become head of government themselves.
Ex-Defense Secretary Naftali Bennett of the far-right Jamina Party said on Monday that his clear goal was to replace Netanyahu.
"I think Netanyahu and Benny Gantz failed with one of the worst governments in our country's history."
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 201222-99-780380 / 3
Israel's Parliament