Israel seeks end to deadlock with third election in under a year

JERUSALEM • Israel's longest-serving leader Benjamin Netanyahu and former military chief Benny Gantz yesterday duelled in their third match-up in less than a year, as Israelis burdened by election fatigue and political paralysis looked grimly at polls forecasting another deadlock.

Mr Netanyahu's prospects appeared to improve as he went into the last stretch ahead of yesterday's race, yet there was no clear sign of the significant shift in opinion that would end a year of impasse that has stymied progress in key policy areas.

Israel's economy expanded at an unexpectedly faster clip of 3.5 per cent last year - buoyed by consumer spending and a booming technology sector. But there is concern that a continued stalemate will alienate investors and delay reforms to the ailing health, education and infrastructure sectors.

Mr Netanyahu, indicted in three graft cases, has been gambling on successive re-votes to win a majority in Parliament and possibly keep himself out of jail.

Two major developments have rippled through the country since Israelis last cast ballots in September. The once all-powerful Israeli Prime Minister has watched corruption suspicions ripen into indictments and a March 17 trial date.

And, far away in Washington, the Trump administration reshuffled the Middle East deck with a peace plan that would allow Israel to unilaterally annex large chunks of the West Bank, in a harsh blow to the Palestinians' statehood aspirations.

While these moves could have far-reaching implications, polls suggest they have not tilted the contest towards a clear-cut verdict.

Mr Netanyahu built momentum in the last two weeks of the campaign, and his Likud Party overtook Mr Gantz's Blue and White political bloc in polls after consistently trailing before.

Yet he and his religious and nationalist allies still fell short of a parliamentary majority, with the last surveys giving the Prime Minister's camp as many as 59 of Parliament's 120 seats, while the rival bloc led by Mr Gantz would win up to 57.

The surveys' margin of error makes a Netanyahu victory realistic, but if he cannot scrape together a 61-seat majority, a variety of options could ensue, said Emeritus Professor Avraham Diskin of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

"There could be a rebellion in both camps. You could have a minority government. You could have a unity government. And there could be another election," he said.

In a sign of the times, isolated voting stations were put up in parking lots to accommodate the roughly 5,600 Israelis under house quarantine after being exposed to the coronavirus.

Mr Netanyahu called the first elections for April last year as the prosecutor's office weighed whether to indict him on bribery and fraud charges. He was unable to form a government after former defence minister Avigdor Liberman unexpectedly refused to join his coalition, and, rather than give anyone else a chance to become prime minister, Mr Netanyahu engineered a September re-vote that delivered another inconclusive result.

Mr Netanyahu is accused of taking about US$290,000 (S$403,000) worth of cigars and champagne from wealthy friends and of scheming to help media moguls in exchange for sympathetic coverage. The Prime Minister has claimed he is the victim of a politically motivated witch-hunt by opponents.

BLOOMBERG