Israel's president has given the parliament three weeks to pick the next prime minister or trigger the country’s fourth election in less than a year. 

President Reuven Rivlin notified opposition leader Benny Gantz Thursday morning that he was transferring the mandate to form a new government to the Knesset. Gantz, who leads the Blue and White Party and is also speaker of the Knesset, has been in talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to form a unity government but the two missed a Wednesday night deadline set by Rivlin. 

Such a deal would have brought an end to a year of political stalemate, in which three consecutive national elections left neither politician with enough support to form a governing coalition. 

Gantz, Netanyahu and their negotiating teams met Wednesday night at the prime minister’s residence in Jerusalem to finalize an agreement. Despite assurances that the talks were on track, the breakdown reportedly stemmed from disagreements over the appointment of judges and legislation that would protect the prime minister from prosecution.