Polls  opened across Israel  on Tuesday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expected to win.

Mr Netanyahu, whose Likud-Yisrael Beitenu party looks set to win as many as 32 seats, told voters that they had a choice between a strong or a weak Jewish state at an eve of poll rally last night.

Benjamin Netanyahu Expected to Win Israeli Election

Mr Netanyahu, whose Likud-Yisrael Beitenu party looks set to win as many as 32 seats, told voters that they had a choice between a strong or a weak Jewish state at an eve of poll rally last night.

“I have no doubt that many, many people will decide at the last minute to come home to Likud-Yisrael Beitenu. I have a good feeling. And at the last minute, I appeal to each and every citizen going to the ballot box: Decide for whom you are going to vote – for a divided and weak Israel or for a united and strong Israel and a large governing party.”

The prospect of another Netanyahu term has fueled a sense of despair among Palestinians, who fear that his ambitious plans for settlement construction over the next four years could kill their dreams of establishing an independent state in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza Strip, territories Israel captured in 1967 and still controls to varying degrees.

By UP