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Intel: Why Israel is having an election do-over

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to the media at the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem May 30, 2019. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RC1A6ACE4DF0
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to the media at the Knesset in Jerusalem, May 30, 2019. — REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

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.

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