Tzipi Livni’s critics said her failure to form a government proved a lack of political savvy and experience.

Tzipi Livni urged President Shimon Peres to call the election without delay and assured him that she would win at the polls — an outcome that is by no means certain.

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni ran out of options in her efforts to form a government, party officials said.

The ultra-Orthodox Shas Party said it would not join a government that Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni is trying to assemble.

The ultra-Orthodox Shas Party said it would not join a government that Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni is trying to assemble.

The ultra-Orthodox Shas party said it would not join a government that Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni is trying to assemble.

An image of Pope Benedict XVI with a swastika over his face appeared on a Web site run by supporters of Kadima, but was removed at the request of the party’s leader.

The most significant part of the draft accord between Kadima and Labor grants Defense Minister Ehud Barak official status as the cabinet’s second in command.

Ehud Olmert, who resigned last week as prime minister of Israel, had become an advocate for negotiations: A change of heart or opportunism?

The woman who hopes to replace Ehud Olmert, Tzipi Livni, faces formidable obstacles in preserving a coalition.