Israel heading for third election impasse in a year

EXHAUSTED voters head to the polls in Israel’s third election in a year tomorrow with Benjamin Netanyahu buoyed by a late boost in the polls despite a looming corruption trial.

After a decade in power, Israel’s mercurial leader risks seeing his political career go down in flames, following two inconclusive election results and accusations of bribery and fraud that will put him in the dock in March. The last poll published on Friday suggested that Israel was heading for yet another stalemate between Mr Netanyahu and rival Benny Gantz, a former general and leader of the Blue and White party.

To save his presidency, Mr Netanyahu will need the key support of loyal Likud voters in places like Ashkelon, a coastal town on the border with Gaza.

In the last week alone, Palestinian jihadists fired dozens of missiles towards Ashkelon and nearby towns. Many vot

‘It’s like we are climbing up a mountain right now – why switch the horse for a donkey?’

ers there seem unfazed by the corruption allegations against Mr Netanyahu, dismissing them as a conspiracy.

Others believe Mr Netanyahu, who earlier this year unveiled a controversial plan with Donald Trump for securing peace with the Palestinians, is the only candidate with the charisma for the tough negotiations that may follow.

When asked who he will be voting for, Herzl Yawas, a veteran of Israel’s Defence Forces, said: “I was injured in the war twice. Bibi [Netanyahu] is a fighter too, and he’s a good diplomat who has built a very good relationship with the US. It’s like we are climbing up a mountain right now – why switch the horse for a donkey?”

Likud and its sister centre-Right party Kulanu won 1,293,000 votes in the April 2019 election, but it slumped to 1,112,000 in the September election.

Even if Mr Netanyahu holds on to power, voters suspect the path to an agreement with Gaza will be long and arduous.