[1] These elections became necessary due to the resignation of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as leader of the Kadima party, and the failure of his successor, Tzipi Livni, to form a coalition government.

Following Livni's victory, former party leader Ehud Olmert (who did not run in the contest) resigned as prime minister.

Livni was given six weeks to form a coalition,[2] but set a deadline of 26 October for parties to agree to join the new government.

[3] It was reported that Shas had rejected almost one billion shekels in child allowances offered to it as part of the coalition negotiations.

Labor did not believe that bilateral Israeli–Palestinian negotiations could succeed under the current circumstances, and advocated a more comprehensive, regional approach to peace.

After official results are published, the president delegates the task of forming a government to the member of Knesset with the best chance of assembling a majority coalition (usually the leader of the largest party, but not required).

On 12 January 2009, Balad and the United Arab List–Ta'al alliance were disqualified by the Central Elections Committee on the grounds that they failed to recognize Israel as a Jewish state and called for armed conflict against it.

[16] The religious Zionist Ahi party, previously part of the National Union alliance, merged into Likud in late December 2008.

[17] Ultra-Orthodox parties Agudat Israel and Degel HaTorah agreed to continue their alliance, United Torah Judaism, for the election.

The first was Social Justice, founded by billionaire Arcadi Gaydamak in February 2007 (which in the end did not run in the election), and Yisrael Hazaka was established by the former Labor member of the Knesset, Efraim Sneh, in May 2008.

[45][46][47] Polls at the time showed that the public supported a national unity government between Likud and Kadima, with either Yisrael Beiteinu or Labor as the third senior coalition member.

[57] On 27 March 2012, the Opposition party Kadima called for leadership primaries, pitting its leader Tzipi Livni against Shaul Mofaz.

[59] Earlier, Netanyahu defeated his rival Moshe Feiglin, winning 77% of the vote in the primaries for the Likud leadership held on 31 January 2012.