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Voter exasperation at the deadlock may hurt turnout but surging
support for the ultranationalist Religious Zionism bloc and
firebrand co-leader Itamar Ben-Gvir has galvanized the race.
Israel's longest-serving premier, Netanyahu is on trial on
corruption charges, which he denies. His rightist Likud party is
still expected to finish as the largest in parliament.
Final opinion polls published last week however showed him still
short of the 61 seats needed for a majority in the 120-seat
Knesset, opening the prospect of weeks of coalition wrangling
and possibly new elections.
Security aned surging prices have topped the list of voter
concerns in a campaign triggered by outgoing centrist Prime
Minister Yair Lapid's decision to seek an early election
following defections from his ruling coalition.
However policy disputes have been overshadowed by the outsized
personality of Netanyahu, whose legal battles have fed the
stalemate blocking Israel's political system since he was
indicted on bribery, fraud and breach of trust charges in 2019.
After repeated rounds of elections in which he failed to gain a
stable majority, he now depends on Religious Zionism, a
once-marginal group set to be the third-largest party.
The rise of Ben-Gvir and fellow far-right leader Bezalel
Smotrich has eaten into Likud's traditional support which has
long been loyal to Netanyahu's hawkish image.
Ben-Gvir - a former member of Kach, a group on Israeli and U.S.
terrorist watchlists, and whose record includes a 2007
conviction for racist incitment against Arabs - on Sunday
announced he wanted to be police minister.
Netanyahu told Israel's Army Radio he would "not rule out" such
an appointment but although Ben-Gvir has moderated some earlier
positions, the prospect of his joining the government risks
alarming allies, including Washington.
Lapid, who will remain in office in the event of deadlock, has
campaigned on the record of the unlikely coalition formed after
the last election that mixed right-wing, centrist and, for the
first time, an Arab party.
As well as strong economic growth, he points to diplomatic
progress with Lebanon and Turkey and a relatively restrained
round of fighting with Palestinian militants in Gaza.
(Reporting by James Mackenzie; Editing by Nick Macfie)
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