The Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has voted in the country’s general election, fighting to stay in office for a fourth term.
The last opinion polls put the centre-left opposition in the lead but all will depend on potential coalition partners.
Casting his ballot at a school in Jerusalem, the prime minister vowed that he would form what he called a “national government” – meaning right wing – and that there would be no union with the left.
He acknowledged that his opponents’ lead had widened.
“To prevent the rise to power of a left-wing party, there is only one thing to do – close the gap, and vote for Likud,” the prime minister said.
Evidence suggests many Israelis are tired of Netanyahu’s focus on national security and Iran’s nuclear programme. He has warned of the dangers of a leader who might yield to Palestinian statehood or nuclear diplomacy with Tehran.
Netanyahu’s rival Isaac Herzog, co-leader of the Zionist Union with ex-peace negotiator Tzipi Livni, hav
