The vote is expected to be close and likely lead to frantic negotiations to form a coalition government once results are in, with opinion polls having shown Netanyahu best placed to do so.
JERUSALEM - Israelis began voting Tuesday in a high-stakes election that will decide whether to extend Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's long right-wing tenure despite corruption allegations or to replace him with an ex-military chief new to politics.
The election will be in many ways a referendum on the 69-year-old leader who has built a reputation as the guarantor of the country's security and economic growth, but whose populism and alleged corruption have left many ready for change. Extending Israeli sovereignty on a large-scale in the West Bank could be the death knell to already fading hopes for a two-state solution with the Palestinians.Netanyahu has also sought to portray himself as Israel's essential statesman, meeting with his close ally US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro in the run up to the vote.
"Who can stand in front of the world? Who can stand in front of the American Congress? Who can move public opinion in that direction?" If polling trends hold, Netanyahu would be best placed to build a coalition thanks to smaller right-wing parties allied to him.
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