Israelis vote in fourth election in two years

Israelis are voting in their fourth election in two years in the occupied territories of Palestine, the result of an unprecedented political deadlock that has seen the Israel’s longest-serving leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, face off against multiple rivals, reported by The Guardian.

This time round, the prime minister is hoping that voters will credit him.

His rightwing Likud party remains ahead in the polls and is predicted to take 30-32 seats in the 120-seat parliament, the Knesset – far more than any other party.

However, the 71-year-old leader would still need to negotiate a coalition with smaller parties to form a 61-seat majority government.

Netanyahu’s preferred path to victory would be what is being called a “full rightwing government”, composed of extreme nationalist, hardline religious and far-right parties.

The prime minister might also need backing from a group seen as even more extreme – an alliance called Religious Zionism, which includes politicians who have expressed anti-gay views and want to expel “disloyal” Arabs from the state.

Israel’s most prominent left-leaning paper, Haaretz, has called this potential outcome a “nightmare” for “anyone who isn’t a nationalist extremist who believes in Jewish supremacy”.

More than 6.3 million Israelis are eligible to vote at the polling stations, which will close at 10pm (8pm GMT) on Tuesday. For election day, the military has closed crossings with the occupied West Bank, where more than 2.5 million Palestinians live under Israeli rule but cannot vote.

The full results could take days to come in.