Key Facts

• Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government’s record are central issues in the election.
• More than three dozen parties are competing, and about a dozen are expected to win seats in parliament.
• Israeli voters elect parties, not individual lawmakers; parties then seek a majority coalition in the Knesset.
• Netanyahu’s coalitions have relied on ultra-Orthodox parties that seek exemptions from military service for religious students.
• Opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot has pledged to end those exemptions.
• Other prominent candidates include former prime minister Naftali Bennett, national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, and Yair Golan, leader of the center-left Democrats.
• The opposition’s ability to unite after the election could determine whether it can form a government.
• Coalition negotiations could take weeks or months before a new prime minister is named.