Former Israeli PM Netanyahu attempts comeback in fifth election in 4 years

Oct. 31 (UPI) -- Israelis are once again going to the polls to choose a new parliament on Tuesday, as the country heads to its fifth election in less than four years.

Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is attempting to make a political comeback after being ousted from office in 2021.

Israel has been governed by a centrist coalition government since that time. The experimental coalition ultimately failed, ushering in the need for a new prime minister.

Netanyahu and his center-right Likud party have been predicted by many to walk away with the largest number of seats in Tuesday's election.

The country's current caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid and his Yesh Atid party have been polling in second place. Israeli law prohibits any polls from being published on the day ahead of the election.

It remains to be seen if enough left or centrists can land seats to form a coalition and keep Netanyahu out of power.

Israel's parliament or Knesset was dissolved over the summer, setting the state for the November election. At the time, then-Prime Minister Naftali Bennett -- who succeeded Netanyahu after the previous election -- turned the post over to Lapid on an interim basis.

Bennett has said he will not lead his conservative Yamina Party in the new elections. Instead, interior minister Ayelet Shaked will be at the top of the Yamina ticket, though the party is expected to face a political reckoning at the polls.

Netanyahu has been on trial over charges of fraud and breach of trust, but has steadfastly denied any wrongdoing, offering unsubstantiated claims that the charges against him are evidence of a political witch hunt led by his opponents.

Leaders for Israel's left-wing Maretz and Hadash parties as well as its Arabic Ta'al party have all voters, attempting to appeal a distaste for once-again seeing Netanyahu in the prime minister's office.

"I am not just running a 'gevalt' campaign, I am crying out the mother of all cries -- if Meretz does not pass the electoral threshold, [Netanyahu] is assured victory," Meretz leader Zehava Galon said on Israel's Channel 12.

"Your vote is important. We have a clear platform; clear ethical positions that many of you can identify with," Ta'al Party leader Ahmad Tibi said during a Monday press conference.

Current defense minister Benny Gantz heads up the newly-formed National Unity Party, a successor to his Blue and White party. The group was born out of Gantz' previous Blue and White Party.

The far-right Religious Zionist Party could be the largest extreme right-wing group ever seated in the Knesset.