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JERUSALEM, Dec. 12-- Israel is heading to an uNPRecedented third election within a year, after a deadline for forming a coalition government expired on Wednesday. After the deadline passed at midnight Wednesday, the Israeli parliament, or Knesset, dissolved itself and a new election was scheduled for March 2, 2020. Apparently, the political deadlock in Israel has not been broken even after the April and September elections. Unless the third election produces a dramatically different result, the political stalemate will be further prolonged. For sitting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the election will be another fight for his political survival. Unlike the previous two elections, next year Israelis will go to the polls knowing that Netanyahu has been charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust. The announcement of the indictments against Netanyahu last month further plunged the Israeli political system into disarray. While Netanyahu still has many supporters, his political opponents fortified their positions by refusing to partner with an indicted leader. While Israeli law permits an indicted prime minister to remain in power until a final verdict, the law on giving a candidate the authority to form a government is less apparent. It is unclear whether the attorney general will make a clear statement on the matter before the new election. "It is likely there will be an appeal to the supreme court," said Ofer Kenig, a researcher at the Israeli Democracy Institute. "If the decision will be that Netanyahu cannot run, this will strengthen his supporters feeling that there is an attempt by the leftist elites to overthrow him." | 
