Luke Skywalker
Super Moderator
{vb:raw ozzmodz_postquote}:
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a statement to the news media during his visit in Har Homa, an Israeli settlement neighborhood of annexed east Jerusalem, on March 16, 2015, on the eve of Israel's parliamentary elections.(Photo: Menahem Kahana, AFP/Getty Images)
JERUSALEM — Benjamin Netanyahu made a last-ditch appeal to supporters of his right-wing Likud Party to turn out for Israel's election Tuesday and avert defeat for the long-serving prime minister.
"This is a fateful struggle, a close struggle," Netanyahu, who is seeking a fourth term, declared Monday in the face of polls showing him trailing his center-left opponent. "We must close this gap. We can close this gap," he told a crowd of backers.
Isaac Herzog, leader of Israel's center-left Zionist Union, speaks with voters at his party headquarters in Tel Aviv on March 16, 2015, a day ahead of legislative elections.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Ariel Schalit, AP)
Isaac Herzog, whose Zionist Union coalition was leading in the polls, confidently predicted an "upheaval" was imminent, the Associated Press reported.
USA TODAY
Netanyahu rival: A contrast in substance and style
The final polls released Friday showed Likud trailing the Zionist Union by two to four seats in the Knesset, the Israeli parliament. Although Netanyahu is favored on security issues, voters prefer Herzog on domestic concerns, such as the high cost of living, which is resonating as a top issue in this election.
Under Israel's electoral system, the president asks the leader of the party that wins the most seats to cobble together at least 61 of the 120 Knesset seats needed to form a coalition government. That process could take weeks, and if the winner can't form a coalition, the runner-up can try to form a coalition government.
USA TODAY
Netanyahu fights to stave off election defeat
On Monday, an internal Likud poll found that 49.6% of Israelis believe Netanyahu will form the next government, down from 63.3% on March 9, according to the Jerusalem Post. The newspaper said the polls were conducted by McLaughlin and Associates, a U.S. Republican group working for the Netanyahu campaign.
A top 2012 campaign aide to President Obama is working for a group seeking to oust Netanyahu, who has strained relations with the White House over his outspoken opposition to U.S. negotiations with Iran on a deal to curb Iran's nuclear program.
Passengers sit in a bus driving past a billboard with the photo of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a day ahead of legislative elections, in Bnei Brak near Tel Aviv.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Ariel Schalit, AP)
Netanyahu campaigned Monday in Har Homa, an upscale Jerusalem neighborhood built on territory that Israel captured in its 1967 war to underscore his promise that Jerusalem will never be divided under any peace accord with Palestinians. They claim the land as part of their future state.
The prime minister charged that Herzog would divide the city by ceding parts of east Jerusalem to the Palestinians in a future peace deal. The city was physically divided from 1948 to 1967, until Israel captured east Jerusalem from Jordan.
Netanyahu told Har Homa residents he will "continue to build and fortify" all of Jerusalem. He also ruled out establishing a Palestinian state if he is kept in office. He made the pledge in a videotaped interview posted Monday on the nrg news website, the AP reported.
The international community, including the Obama administration, considers Har Homa an illegal settlement.
Herzog vowed to keep Jerusalem's Jewish sites under Israeli sovereignty in any future peace deal. He has said he would freeze construction of some new settlements and consider relinquishing territory and Jewish settlements in a negotiated peace deal with the Palestinians.
Powered By WizardRSS.com | Full Text RSS Feed