Netanyahu accepts budget ‘compromise,’ averting fourth election for now

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Sunday evening that he accepted a “compromise” on a crucial budget vote, averting at least temporarily a fourth election in under two years.

The deadlock between Netanyahu’s Likud party and Blue and White, the party of Defense Minister and Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz, was over the state budget amid the coronavirus pandemic.

After his Likud party and its right-wing allies failed to secure a parliamentary majority in three elections over 18 months, former election rivals Netanyahu and Gantz agreed to an unprecedented power-sharing deal in April.

Netanyahu, Israel’s longest serving premier, is currently standing trial over bribery, fraud and breach of trust. He denies all wrongdoing.

This is a developing story