The right way out of this sorry situation is for Mr. Netanyahu’s party and his allies to step up — and tell the prime minister it is time to step down.

Mr. Netanyahu is a fighter. He won’t admit guilt and he won’t surrender his office. I have to admire his determination. But I also wonder about his game plan. Dragging Israel into a third election after twice failing to form a government is bad enough. Dragging Israel into a third election with an indictment hanging over him is worse. Even if Mr. Netanyahu did win more seats on his third try, it’s unclear whether the president can task an indicted candidate with forming a government. Of course, there is also a possibility Likud will lose many seats because of the indictment. But for Mr. Netanyahu’s rivals to form a coalition without Likud or its allies, the losses would have to be huge — and most pollsters see that as unrealistic.

The legal situation is murky. According to the written law, a prime minister has no obligation to resign until a court convicts him. But that doesn’t necessarily mean he can be re-elected and reappointed. The attorney general may state that Mr. Netanyahu can stay for now, but also that the president, after another election, is forbidden from handing Mr. Netanyahu the mandate to form a government. Such a verdict would surely be challenged and, ultimately, decided in court .

If the courts force Mr. Netanyahu out, it will only add fuel to a vicious campaign of leaders and legislators who believe — not entirely without reason — that Israel’s legal system has too much power and is too involved in making decisions that belong in the political arena. This, in turn, will contribute to a dangerous process in which Israelis on the right (a majority of Israelis are right of center) lose their trust in the legal system.

And if the courts let Mr. Netanyahu keep his job, and even try to get it back after another election, Israel is really stuck. Polls published in recent days indicate that a third election does not seem likely to alter the political picture. Mr. Netanyahu and his bloc of right-wing and religious parties won’t win enough seats to form a coalition and neither will Mr. Netanyahu’s opponents. Mr. Netanyahu’s indictment complicates the situation by removing any hope for a unity government, since the opposition would never agree to serve under an indicted prime minister.