Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was confronted with one of the biggest defeats of his political career Thursday after failing to form a coalition and opting instead to hold an unprecedented second election. Israel will now head to the polls again on September 17, just over five months after an April election that saw Netanyahu and his right-wing and religious allies win a majority. As Wednesday’s midnight deadline to form a coalition approached, Netanyahu was unable to convince ex-defence minister Avigdor Lieberman to abandon a key demand and join the government.