to be held in 2010, but can be called
earlier); following legislative elections, the president assigns a
Knesset member - traditionally the leader of the largest party - the
task of forming a governing coalition
election results: Moshe KATZAV elected president by the 120-member
Knesset with a total of 60 votes, other candidate, Shimon PERES,
received 57 votes (there were three abstentions); Ehud OLMERT won
the right to lead the government when his Kadima Party won 29 seats
in elections held on 28 March 2006; in May 2006 OLMERT formed a
coalition government with the Labor, GIL (Pensioners), and SHAS
parties. In October 2006 the Yisrael Beiteinu party joined the
government

Legislative branch:
unicameral Knesset (120 seats; members elected by popular vote to
serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 28 March 2006 (next scheduled to be held in
2010)
election results: percent of vote by party - Kadima 22%, Labor
15.1%, Likud 9%, SHAS 9.5%, Yisrael Beiteinu 9%, NU/NRP 7.1%, GIL
5.9%, Torah and Shabbat Judaism 4.7%, Meretz-YAHAD 3.8%, United Arab
List 3%, Balad 2.3%, HADASH 2.7%; seats by party - Kadima 29, Labor
19, Likud 12, SHAS 12, Yisrael Beiteinu 11, NU/NRP 9, GIL 7, Torah
and Shabbat Judaism 6, Meretz-YAHAD 5, United Arab List 4, Balad 3,
HADASH 3

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court (justices appointed by Judicial Selection Committee -
made up of all three branches of the government; mandatory
retirement age is 70)

Political parties and leaders:
Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (HADASH) [Muhammad BARAKA];
GIL (Pensioners) [Rafael EITAN]; Kadima [Ehud OLMERT]; Labor Party
[Amir PERETZ]; Likud Party [Binyamin NETANYAHU]; Meretz-YAHAD [Yossi
BEILIN]; National Democratic Assembly (Balad) [Azmi BISHARA];
National Union (NU)/National Religious Party (NRP) [Binyamin ELON];
SHAS [Eliyahu YISHAI]; Torah and Shabbat Judaism [Yaakov LITZMAN];
United Arab List [Ibrahim SARSOUR]; Yisrael Beiteinu [Avigdor
LIEBERMAN]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
Israeli nationalists advocating Jewish settlement on the West Bank
and Gaza Strip; Peace Now [Yariv OPPENHEIMER, Secretary
General]supports territorial concessions in the West Bank and Gaza
Strip; Yesha Council of Settlements [Bentzi LIEBERMAN, Chairman]
promotes settler interests and opposes territorial compromise;
B'Tselem monitors human rights abuses

International organization parti