OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — Israelis voted Tuesday in an election that is expected to hand hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a third term, opening the way for a showdown with Iran and bolstering opponents of Palestinian statehood. However, Netanyahu's own Likud party, running alongside the ultra-nationalist Yisrael Beitenu group, looks set to win fewer seats than in the previous parliament, with opinion polls showing a surge in support for the far-right Jewish Home party. Six hours before polls close, the Israeli election committee said turnout was 46.6 percent, up from 41.9 percent at the same time in 2009 and the highest level since 1999, when Netanyahu, serving his first term as prime minister, was defeated by then-Labor Party leader Ehud Barak. Ahead of Tuesday's ballot, analysts had speculated that high turnout would benefit center-left parties that have sometimes struggled to motivate their voter base. In a sign of concern over a possible centrist surge, Netanyahu urged his supporters to go to the polls. “Go vote, and then go back to the cafes. Go vote so we can lead Israel because ... we don't really know how all of this is going to end,” he said in public remarks at Likud party headquarters in Tel Aviv. Political sources said Netanyahu, worried by his apparent fall in popularity, might approach center-left parties after the ballot in an effort to broaden his coalition and present a more moderate face to Washington and other concerned allies. Some 5.66 million Israelis are eligible to cast a ballot. Full results are due by Wednesday morning, opening the way for coalition talks that could take several weeks. The lackluster election campaign failed to focus on any single issue and with a Netanyahu victory predicted by every opinion poll, the two main political blocs seemed to spend more time on internal feuding than confronting each other. “There is a king sitting on the throne in Israel and I wanted to dethrone him, but it looks like that won't happen,” said Yehudit Shimshi, a retired teacher voting in central Israel in balmy winter weather that drew out the electorate. Amongst the new parties standing for the first time in an election were Yesh Atid (There is a Future), a centrist group led by former television host Yair Lapid, seen winning 13 seats. Tuesday's vote is the first in Israel since Arab uprisings swept the region two years ago, reshaping the Middle East. Netanyahu has said the turbulence — which has brought Islamist governments to power in several countries long ruled by secularist autocrats, including neighboring Egypt — shows the importance of strengthening national security. If he wins on Tuesday, he will seek to put Iran back to the top of the global agenda. Netanyahu has said he will not let Tehran enrich enough uranium to make a single nuclear bomb — a threshold Israeli experts say could arrive as early as mid-2013. Iran denies it is planning to build the bomb, and says Israel, widely believed to have the only nuclear arsenal in the Middle East, is the biggest threat to the region. The issue has barely registered during the election campaign, with a poll in Haaretz newspaper Friday saying 47 percent of Israelis thought social and economic issues were the most pressing concern, against just 10 percent who cited Iran. One of the first problems to face the next government, which is unlikely to take power before the middle of next month at the earliest, is the stuttering economy. Data last week showed the budget deficit rose to 4.2 percent of gross domestic product in 2012, double the original estimate, meaning spending cuts and tax hikes look certain. — Reuters
