Voting begins in Israel to elect new parliament

Israelis began voting today to elect a new parliament. Fourteen main parties are competing for 120 seats in the Knesset or parliament. Incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is running for his fifth term in office. 

His main challenger is Benny Gantz, a former chief of staff of the Israeli military. Voters will cast their ballots



for a party, not a candidate. The more votes a party gets, the more seats it obtains in the Knesset as the government is based on a nationwide proportional representation system. 

Political parties must pass an electoral threshold of 3.25 percent to gain a Knesset seat.