Benny Gantz, Benjamin Netanyahu's main rival, failed to form the government by the deadline set for Wednesday. With this, his hopes of ousting Netanyahu, the longtime Prime Minister of Israel, were dashed and the country was pushed to an unprecedented third election in less than a year.

The Political crisis in the country has deepened with the announcement of Gantz, the leader of the centrist Blue and White Party. It has shown a new ray of hope to Netanyahu who is desperate to continue in office. When Netanyahu failed to form a coalition, the president gave his main rival a chance, but he too could not form the government.

In a statement late Wednesday night, Gantz said he had informed President Ruvan Rivlin that he was unable to form a coalition government. He said that he would work in the next 21 days to create a good government for the citizens of Israel.