JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel is swearing in its newly elected parliament.
The ceremony on Thursday comes after the second inconclusive election of the year and with no new government on the horizon.
It also takes place in parallel to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s pre-indictment hearing on corruption charges. The longtime leader’s legal woes threaten to end his political career and have paralyzed the country’s political system.
The previous Israeli parliament had the shortest stint in history, lasting just over four months. There’s no guarantee the current one will be any longer.
Neither Netanyahu not his chief rival Benny Gantz are able to build a parliamentary majority with their natural allies. They now depend on each other for a unity government as the only likely alternative to an unprecedented third election in a year.
Photo: Attorney Yossi Ashkenazi representing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives at the Ministry of Justice in Jerusalem for the second day of pre-indictment hearing in the corruption case of Netanyahu, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2019. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
