Intel: Why Israel is having an election do-over
![ISRAEL-POLITICS/PARLIAMENT Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to the media at the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem May 30, 2019. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RC1A6ACE4DF0](/sites/default/files/styles/article_hero_medium/public/almpics/2019/05/RTX6X31D.jpg/RTX6X31D.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=jPojpmva)
The Israeli Knesset voted today to hold new elections on Sept. 17, just five months after the last one, after the head of the leading party failed to build a governing coalition for the first time in the nation’s history.
Why it matters: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s failure to attract enough support after his Likud Party and its right-wing allies won the April 9 Knesset elections threatens political gridlock just as the country faces daunting domestic and international challenges, including rising tensions with Iran and the imminent start of US-led negotiations on a peace deal with the Palestinians.