Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political survival was on the line yesterday in a hard-fought parliamentary election pitting his nationalist and security-first ideology against his challengers’ focus on the plight of the nation’s struggling middle class.
Opinion polls showed a tight race heading into yesterday’s vote, with Netanyahu’s opponents, led by Isaac Herzog of the centrist Zionist Union, showing a slight lead. The last available poll was published on Friday last week, when a significant number of voters were still undecided.
In a last-ditch effort to appeal to his right-wing base, Netanyahu yesterday reiterated his pledge to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state and took a swipe at Israel’s own Arab minority.
Photo: AFP
“Right-wing rule is in danger. Arab voters are going to the polls in droves. Left-wing organizations are bringing them in buses,” Netanyahu said in a video statement posted on Facebook.
He called on supporters to vote for him to “narrow the gap” between his party and the Zionist Union.
“With your help, and with the help of God, we will build a nationalist government that will protect the state of Israel,” he said.
Herzog has promised to revive peace efforts with the Palestinians, repair ties with the US and reduce the growing gap between rich and poor.
“Whoever wants to follow [Netanyahu’s] path of despair and disappointment will vote for him, but whoever wants change, hope and really a better future for Israel will vote the Zionist Union led by me,” Herzog said after casting his vote.
That call resonated with 51-year-old Ofer Benishti, who voted at a polling station in Kfar Saba in central Israel.
He said he was a lifelong Likud voter, but was now casting his ballot for the Zionist Union.
“I have had enough,” said Benishti, a businessman whose company deals with spare parts for buses. “Bibi tried and tried and tried, but it just hasn’t worked. It’s time to give someone else a chance. It can’t get worse than this.”
Israeli election officials said 26.5 percent of eligible voters had voted by midday, a rate similar to previous years.
In electing the 120-member parliament, Israelis are casting ballots for party lists rather than individual candidates. No party has ever won a majority and so after an election it can take weeks of negotiations to form a governing coalition.
Several smaller centrist and religious parties that have not pledged support for either Netanyahu or Herzog will likely tip the scales to determine who will become prime minister.
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