Israelis are voting Tuesday in the second election in five months. The last one ended inconclusively after weeks of negotiations, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, failed to produce a governing coalition with a viable majority for the first time in Israel’s history.
Mr. Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, is once again fighting for his political survival. Polls indicate a tight race even though he is facing possible indictment on accusations of bribery, fraud and breach of trust. This could be his last stand.
As the deadline for forming a government approached, an ally-turned-nemesis, Avigdor Lieberman, refused to join in. The leader of a secular, ultranationalist party, he did so ostensibly because of a dispute with ultra-Orthodox parties over a bill allowing more seminary students to be drafted.
That left Mr. Netanyahu and his allies one seat short of a majority in the 120-seat Parliament. Determined to deprive his rivals of a chance to form a government, Mr. Netanyahu orchestrated the swift dissolution of the newly elected Parliament, leading to Tuesday’s vote.