President Picks PM to Present Patchwork Political Partnership, as Potentially Provisional Parliament Proclaims Pledge  

Israel’s 24th Knesset was sworn in on Tuesday to nearly no fanfare and excitement, only one year after the nation’s 23rd Parliament took its oath and less than two years since the 21st did. Israeli parliaments are meant to serve for four years each. The political stalemate plaguing Israel has led to repeated undecided elections, however, and the latest round, concluded last month, also appears to have produced no resolution to the crisis. Just before parliament’s swearing-in ceremony, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin on Tuesday tapped Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to form a government, based on the election results and the president’s consultations with parliament’s various parties. The incumbent will now have 28 days to come up with a coalition, an improbable task given the fourth election’s close results. If Netanyahu, whose trial for charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust resumed on Monday, fails then the mandate to form a government will likely transfer to one of his rivals.