Israeli politicians have only a few hours to motivate voters, before the fifth elections in less than 4 years begin tomorrow, Tuesday, and former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looks forward to returning to power.
Before his ouster in June 2021, Netanyahu, 73, served as prime minister for the longest period in Israel's history.
The coalition led by Yair Lapid lasted only one year, before elections were called that would see Netanyahu and his allies attempt to obtain a majority of 61 seats to form a government, a result that eluded them in 4 previous elections.
In tomorrow's vote, Netanyahu is also expected to seek the support of the far-right led by Itamar Ben Gvir, known for his anti-Palestinian rhetoric and his call for the annexation of the entire occupied West Bank.
Polls
Recent opinion polls released last Friday confirmed that Israel is still mired in an unprecedented era of political stalemate.
Three opinion polls - conducted by the Israeli channels 12 and 13 and the Kan network - gave Netanyahu's bloc 60 seats, with 56 seats for the anti-Netanyahu parties, and Arab parties that are not expected to support any Israeli government only gave 4 seats.
In the event that neither camp is able to obtain 61 seats, this means heading to a sixth election after several months.
Today, Monday, Lapid expressed his confidence in winning, telling the representatives of his "There is a Future" party that he would "win in these elections" through an integrated presentation he would make to the voters, which is "the anger of the past or the common good of the future."
once is enough
But Netanyahu is relentlessly seeking the position of prime minister, and during his election campaign he toured a bullet-proof bus, which caused a wave of mockery, so they called it the “Bibi bus,” and compared it to the car in which the Pope is traveling.
The former prime minister sought to convey a message that the coalition that toppled him last year, which included an Arab party for the first time in Israel's history, was "dangerous." In statements to Israeli Army Radio, Netanyahu said that "Israel's future is at stake."
Buses all over Jerusalem were decorated with Likud posters with pictures of the four main contenders with the slogan "once is enough."
These posters show Lapid, Defense Minister Benny Gantz, and United List leader Mansour Abbas, as well as MK and Arab MK Ahmed Tibi from the Hadash party.
Tibi had made an appeal in Hebrew to left-wing Israelis and urged them to help prevent Netanyahu from returning to power, and said, "Without us, the right will form a majority government, we need you to prevent them" from doing so.
Escalation of Israeli violations
The legislative elections in Israel coincide with the increase in resistance operations in the West Bank in response to the escalation of Israeli violations, at a time when some analysts warned of fears of the outbreak of a third intifada.
The operations of the Israeli occupation army this year left more than 120 Palestinian martyrs, the largest death toll in the West Bank in nearly 7 years, according to the United Nations.
The Israeli army announced its intention to close the crossings with the occupied West Bank tomorrow, Tuesday, with the exception of humanitarian cases.
For political analyst Nadav Eyal, the increased violence could help Netanyahu convince voters that he is the only one who can keep them safe.
For his part, Palestinian Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh said in the weekly cabinet meeting that "these elections will not bring a partner for peace."