Israel is facing a period of political paralysis

Significance

Opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu does not have sufficient support in the Knesset to bring down the government at present. However, the government is vulnerable to the demands of members of the Knesset (MKs), which threaten the coalition’s delicate ideological balance and its ability to survive.

Impacts

• Without a majority, the government will have difficulty passing legislation.
• Failure to bring down the government may finally lead the Likud party to oust Netanyahu as its leader.
• An early election is likely to produce a stalemate, with neither side amassing a Knesset majority.