Israel’s Unprecedented Political Crisis

JERUSALEM—Israel’s politics are wild and chaotic. Its electoral system is remarkably reliable. In the past seven decades, 20 parliamentary elections yielded relatively well-functioning governments. The 21st was a different story.

Benjamin Netanyahu’s failure this week to form a coalition, followed by his unprecedented move to dissolve the Knesset and go for an early election, just seven weeks after the previous one, is legal, but flies in the face of Israeli political tradition.

The dynamic of the next election, to be held in September, is impossible to . Will Israeli voters, to avoid further political instability, turn away from smaller parties and enhance Netanyahu’s majority? Or will they identify the frantic maneuvering of a prime minister facing multiple corruption indictments as the source of chaos