2009 Israeli legislative election 2009 Israeli legislative election Elections for the 18th Knesset were held in Israel on 10 February 2009. 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. Had Olmert remained in office or had Livni formed a coalition government, the elections would have been scheduled for 2010 instead. Although the incumbent prime minister's party, Kadima, won the most seats in the parliament, the Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu was able to form a majority coalition government and become the
Tzipi Livni party members to support a Druze candidate instead because he thought it important for Likud to have Arab representation. Livni served in the IDF, gaining rank of lieutenant. Livni began studying law at Bar-Ilan University in 1979, but suspended her law studies when she joined the Mossad in 1980. She served in the Mossad from 1980 to 1984, between the ages of 22 and 26. According to an interview in "Yedioth Ahronoth" described in "The Sunday Times", she served in the elite unit responsible for Operation Wrath of God. She resigned from the Mossad in August 1983 to marry and