5 elections in 4 years: What is the Israel political crisis?

On Tuesday, November 1, Israelis voted in their fifth national election since 2019. Now, the country is hoping to break the political impasse that has plagued them for the last four years.  

Even though Israelites are facing inflation, a high cost of living and constant tension due to the increasing Israel-Palestine issue,  the high voting turnout says that they are hoping for the betterment of the country now. 

These elections are very important, experts say, because according to polls, and the initial counting say the former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud, which right now is in Opposition, could emerge as the largest in the Knesset (the governing body of Israel).

Speaking in Jerusalem in the middle of the night, Netanyahu asked his supporters to have patience and said his Likud Party was "on the verge of a very big victory."

Why so many elections? Idit Silman, a politician for the current religious-nationalist Yamina party of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, resigned from the party in April of this year, effectively leaving the party without a majority.

Back then, Bennett had allegedly said that Netanyahu backers had "persecuted" Silman "at the most horrible level" for months. According to Bennett's story, Silman was "broken" by the harassment, which led to her leaving the coalition. Silman, though, did not agree with this.

The necessary coalition was disturbed when Silman resigned, causing chaos and a re-election.

In simple terms, No party has ever earned a parliamentary majority in Israel's fragile politics, thus governing requires forging coalitions. Even for Netanyahu to become Prime Minister again, his party will need to have a partnership with ultra-nationalist extremists and ultra-orthodox religious groups.

To understand what's happening in Israel, here is a quick timeline of events: