Mr. Netanyahu is not legally required to resign unless he is convicted, and the cases could stretch for years. The greater problem is that Mr. Netanyahu’s legal issues are entangled in one of the most protracted political crises Israel has known in its tumultuous history. National elections in April and September left the Parliament without a clear leader, and on Wednesday, Mr. Netanyahu’s chief challenger, Benny Gantz, announced that, like Mr. Netanyahu before him, he had failed to cobble together a coalition that would form a majority in the Parliament. The president, Reuven Rivlin, then told the Parliament to find a leader by Dec. 11 or face another round of elections early next year.

A government of “national unity” between Mr. Netanyahu’s Likud and Mr. Gantz’s Blue and White parties would be a reasonable solution, given that Mr. Gantz, a former military chief of staff, is not overly far from Likud’s basic positions. But he has ruled out teaming up with an indicted prime minister.

Nobody reading about Israel’s travails could fail to see the similarities to the political turmoil in the United States, where President Trump is facing impeachment over charges that he demanded political favors of the Ukrainian president in exchange for giving him public support and military aid. The main charges against Mr. Netanyahu also involve a quid pro quo, that he sought favorable political coverage from media tycoons in exchange for official favors.

The parallel is not entirely chance. Mr. Trump and Mr. Netanyahu have formed strong bonds, and the Trump administration has changed several core American policies toward Israel long demanded by Israeli right-wingers and their American supporters. These include cutting aid to the United Nations agency that helps Palestinian refugees, and recognizing Israeli claims to Jerusalem as its capital, and to the Golan Heights. In the latest and most mystifying such gift, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared on Monday that the United States no longer regards Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank as a violation of international law. As with the past gifts, Mr. Trump, who likes to boast about his deal-making prowess, achieved no perceptible benefit for the American national interest.

It was not clear whether Mr. Pompeo made his announcement in an 11th-hour bid to bolster Mr. Netanyahu, or to curry favor with American evangelicals who fiercely support Israeli settlers and are a core Trump constituency. Whatever the motive, the declaration did nothing to change the fact that the settlements on occupied territory violate international law. They are not the only obstacle to peace between the Israelis and Palestinians — but they are an obstacle to peace.