Israelis have been called to the polls in the fifth legislative election in five years.
The latest polls show that the different blocs are very close to each other and one element will be decisive: the participation of the Arab community, which makes up 20 percent of Israel’s population.
Israeli politicians campaigned for the last time on Tuesday as the country holds its fifth election in less than four years, with former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu eyeing a comeback.
The 73-year-old leader of the Likud party served as prime minister longer than anyone in Israel’s history before being ousted from power in June 2021 by an ideologically divided coalition formed by current Prime Minister Yair Lapid.
That alliance lasted only a year, triggering Tuesday’s vote, which will see Netanyahu and his allies try to secure the 61-seat parliamentary majority in the 120-seat Knesset that has consistently eluded them.
And final pre-election polls, released Friday, underscored that Israel remains mired in an unprecedented era of political gridlock.
The so-called “Netanyahu block” was predicted to take 60 seats in three polls.
Polls suggested 56 seats for anti-Netanyahu parties and four seats for an alliance of Arab-led parties that are not expected to support any Israeli government.
If the result ends up along these lines, with neither camp reaching 61 seats, Israel could potentially be headed for a new, sixth election in a matter of months.
Nearly 6.8 million Israelis are registered to vote, 210,000 more than the last election in March 2021.