The Players and Parties as Israel Votes

Polls ahead of Israel’s Sept. 17 election suggest a tight race between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud and former military chief Benny Gantz’s Blue and White. But in Israel’s fractured political landscape, it takes more than a single party to rule, so the real tension will be over who can line up the biggest bloc of parliamentary seats.

The election is the second in five months after Netanyahu failed to form a coalition following April balloting. The key decider may be former Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman of Yisrael Beiteinu, who last time refused to join Netanyahu's government. Other potential players include Israel's ultra-Orthodox parties, United Torah Judaism and Shas. They command roughly 15% of parliamentary seats between them and have been mainstays in Netanyahu governments, while the Joint List, which represents Israel's Arab minority, has signaled some support for Gantz.