Israel prepares for third consecutive election

Israelis take to polls next week, in an unprecedented third consecutive parliamentary election.

Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz is trying to unseat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the March 2 vote after two elections in 2019 failed to yield a conclusive result.

Netanyahu, Israel's longest serving prime minister, seeks re-election while facing indictments on corruption charges.

He has denied any wrongdoing.

Public opinion polls are predicting a similar result to the previous two inconclusive elections, leaving a divided Israel deadlocked and neither Netanyahu nor his chief challenger Benny Gantz able to build a coalition government with their traditional partners.

But if Netanyahu's Likud edges ahead and along with its allies garners more than 61 of parliament's 120 members, the prime minister will have far more room to maneuver his way around the charges against him.

Alternatively, if he falls short, he may be willing to step aside in return for some form of plea bargain that will keep him out of prison.

According to the Central Elections Committee, there are 6,453,255 registered voters eligible to vote for the 120-member Israeli legislature, known as the Knesset.