(CBN) – Israel will hold an unprecedented national election September 17 after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form a government coalition in the Knesset by Wednesday evening’s deadline. This will be the second time Israel holds a national election in a single year. Just before midnight Wednesday, the newly sworn-in Knesset voted to dissolve itself. The vote put Israel in unchartered waters – sending
the political system into disarray with a second snap election in just a matter of months. Ultimately, Netanyahu was unable to bring together former Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s secular-right wing party Yisrael Beiteinu and the ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties. Netanyahu’s Likud party secured 35 seats out of the 120-seat Knesset (parliament) following the national elections on April 9. He needed both Lieberman and the ultra-Orthodox parties to join his coalition to win a majority in the Knesset and stay in power. READ MORE
