Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni called for a snap general election on Sunday after the collapse of coalition talks with the Shas political party. This announcement comes one month after Israeli President Shimon Peres appointed Livni to form a government to replace Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who resigned amid corruption allegations.

This call for snap elections will likely extend the country’s political limbo for at least three more months before the elections are actually held.

Opinion polls indicate that the right-wing Likud party, under the leadership of former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, would emerge as the winner of the elections.

If elected, Netanyahu would put a quick end to Livni’s wish to carve up Jerusalem on the negotiating table. But if he backs away from concessions Olmert and Livni have already agreed to make to Mahmoud Abbas, Netanyahu’s hard-line stance could prompt Palestinians to rise up in protest. For more in-depth analysis about the prophesied violence that will result in the division of Jerusalem, read “Can This Man Save Israel?”