Israel election tightly poised as Netanyahu bids for comeback - Reuters

JERUSALEM, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Israelis began voting for the 5th clip successful little than 4 years connected Tuesday, with erstwhile premier Benjamin Netanyahu bidding for a comeback successful a contention apt to crook connected the show of a far-right enactment that has risen from the fringe to go a imaginable conjugation kingmaker.

After years of deadlock, elector exasperation with the governmental parties has been increasing but surging enactment for the ultra-nationalist Religious Zionism bloc has galvanized the run for some supporters and opponents of the radical and its firebrand co-leader Itamar Ben-Gvir.

By 2 p.m., turnout was 38.9%, the highest astatine this signifier successful 23 years, said Orly Ades, caput of Israel's Central Elections Committee, though it remains unclear however this aboriginal robust elector information volition interaction the results.

Israel's longest-serving premier, Netanyahu is connected proceedings connected corruption charges, which helium denies, but his rightist Likud enactment is inactive expected to decorativeness arsenic the largest successful parliament.

However, the last sentiment polls from past week showed him inactive abbreviated of the 61 seats needed for a bulk successful the 120-seat Knesset, opening the imaginable of weeks of conjugation wrangling and perchance caller elections.

"There's a feeling of despair astatine each these elections," said Hagit Cohen, a 46-year-old societal idiosyncratic from Tel Aviv. She said she was voting for outgoing centrist Prime Minister Yair Lapid alternatively than the centre-left parties she usually backed.

Security and surging prices person topped the database of elector concerns successful a run triggered by defections from the improbable ruling conjugation of right-wing, centrist and Arab parties formed aft the past election.

The campaign, which opened weeks aft a little struggle with the militant Islamic Jihad radical successful Gaza successful August, has besides unrolled against a backdrop of months of unit successful the occupied West Bank, with near-daily raids and clashes.

However the struggle has had small nonstop interaction connected the campaign, which has been overshadowed by the outsized property of Netanyahu, whose ineligible battles person fed the stalemate blocking Israel's governmental strategy since helium was indicted connected bribery, fraud and breach of spot charges successful 2019.

Casting his ballot successful Jerusalem, Netanyahu, aft informing supporters astir perchance precocious turnout for his opponents, said: "I told you I was a small spot disquieted but God willing...we volition decorativeness the time with a smile."

As Netanyahu's ineligible problems person continued, Ben-Gvir and chap far-right person Bezalel Smotrich person eaten into Likud's accepted hawkish basal and the once-marginal Religious Zionism is present acceptable to beryllium the third-largest enactment successful parliament.

Ben-Gvir - a erstwhile subordinate of Kach, a radical connected Israeli and U.S. violent watchlists - has moderated immoderate earlier positions, but the imaginable of his joining a conjugation authorities led by Netanyahu risks alarming Washington.

Casting his ballot successful the West Bank colony of Kiryat Arba, wherever helium lives, Ben-Gvir told reporters: "Here, with 1 ballot, hopefully Netanyahu volition go premier minister, (and) a right-wing authorities volition beryllium formed".

Lapid has campaigned connected diplomatic advances with countries including Turkey and Lebanon arsenic good arsenic connected a beardown show by the Israeli system which has weathered the turbulent planetary situation successful comparatively bully shape.

Flanked by supporters extracurricular a polling centre successful Tel Aviv, Lapid said: "This predetermination is betwixt the aboriginal and the past truthful spell ballot contiguous for the aboriginal of our children, for the aboriginal of our country".

Reporting by James Mackenzie, Dan Williams, Rami Ayyub and Henriette Chacar; Editing by Andrew Heavens, William Maclean and Hugh Lawson

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