Israeli politicians were busy with their latest election campaign on Monday after the latest pre-election polls on Friday showed that neither Netanyahu’s right-wing religious bloc nor the rival center-left bloc would win enough seats to form a government. Polls by Israel’s public broadcaster Kan, as well as Channels 12 and 13, put Netanyahu’s bloc, which includes far-right extremists and two ultra-Orthodox parties, at 60 seats, one short of a majority in the 120-seat Knesset. The anti-Netanyahu camp, led by current Prime Minister Yair Lapid, was projected to win 56 seats. Another four will have to go to a pro-Arab rights coalition that may or may not offer its support to the center-left bloc. If the polls are correct, Israel’s era of crippling political gridlock will continue, with a sixth election likely in the spring. But if the right-wing bloc continues to make small gains, as it has in recent weeks, and turnout among the disenchanted 20 percent of the population of Palestinian heritage is low, Netanyahu may be able to get past 61st place. If that happens, the most extremist government in Israel’s history will be sworn into office. Netanyahu’s potential coalition partners, the Religious Zionists, led by Bezalel Smotrich and the popular Itamar Ben-Gvir, have called for the independence of the judiciary to be abolished, which could help the former prime minister overcome the charges at trial of corruption. Ben-Gvir, who is likely to become a senior cabinet minister, also called for the expulsion of “infidel” citizens and the creation of a ministry to encourage “enemy” Arabs with Israeli passports to immigrate. Netanyahu’s potential coalition partner, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has called for the deportation of “disloyal” citizens. Photo: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images “Netanyahu worked actively to bring the far right and Itamar Ben-Gvir into the mainstream, although I’m not sure he counted on the apprentice to overtake the master,” said Dahlia Scheindlin, a political strategist and pollster who worked as a consultant for Labor Party of Israel earlier this year. “The other parties were not complacent about the threat [the Religious Zionists] pose, but I think there was a general perception that voters are exhausted and that they couldn’t waste resources or exhaust people’s attention too early in the campaigns. “The dominant messages of the parties are whether or not they will cooperate with Netanyahu, and now there is also an important “pro or anti-Ben-Gvir” axis. Netanyahu was finally ousted from a scandal-plagued 12-year premiership last summer after a coalition of eight parties, including, for the first time, an independent Arab list, rallied to oust him. The “government of change”, however, had little else in common and collapsed a year later. Lapid, leader of the centrist Yesh Atid, with smaller left-wing parties, is urging supporters to help block the “extremist agenda” of Netanyahu’s new allies. “The Religious Zionist Party … is out to destroy Israeli democracy, wreak havoc on the judicial system, endanger our soldiers and fight against gender equality and the LGBT community,” Yesh Atid said. Ahmad Tibi, leader of the Arab nationalist Ta’al party, even appealed to left-wing Jewish Israelis to vote for his board on Sunday, saying in Hebrew: “Without us, the right will form a majority government… To stop them, we need you.” Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Final polls put Arab turnout at 50% – not enough to guarantee the Arab Joint List more than the minimum four seats required to enter the Knesset. The right-wing camp is also worried about turnout: if ultra-Orthodox voters don’t leave home on Tuesday, Netanyahu could lose a small but crucial chunk of his support. “Despite the fear that fascism will grow stronger, Netanyahu’s bloc, after four elections, has not yet managed to build a coalition. And that seems to be the case with this current fifth election,” said Naama Lazimi, number two on the centre-left Labor Party’s candidate list. “I’m optimistic and I think that gives us an advantage: we’re building ourselves for the long term.” Tuesday’s election comes amid a particularly bloody chapter in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with the UN recently warning that 2022 will be the deadliest year for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since the organization began tracking casualties in 2005. .of 25 people were killed in attacks on Israel and Israeli settlements. Most of the months-long violence has been confined to Nablus and Jenin, cities in the north of the territory that have been subjected to Israeli army raids and city-wide lockdowns reminiscent of the second intifada, or Palestinian uprising. However, a shooting attack on a settlement near the southern West Bank city of Hebron on Saturday fueled fears that the unrest could spread. Ben-Gvir claimed his home was the target of the attack near an entrance to Kiryat Arba, but his comments were dismissed as untrue by the Israel Defense Forces shortly afterwards.
