EXIT POLLS SUGGEST NETANYAHU WILL RETURN TO POWER IN ISRAELI ELECTION

Tue 01 November 2022:

Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared well placed to return to power following Tuesday’s election after exit polls showed his right-wing bloc heading for a narrow majority lifted by a strong showing from his far-right allies.

Israel’s longest-serving premier, on trial over corruption charges, which he denies, was poised to take 61-62 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, according to Israeli television exit polls.

The early exit polls may differ from the final result of the election, which is not expected until later in the week. Still, the results pointed to a stronger-than-expected showing by the right.

Palestinians in Israeli city of Lod stream in to vote

Throughout the evening, Palestinian citizens of Israel continuously streamed in to vote in large numbers at the Al-Razi school in the mostly Arab neighbourhood of Ramat Eshkol in the city of Lod.

Some voters said they had not planned on voting, but eventually changed their mind.

Competing blocs remain ‘stubbornly tied’, analyst says

Dahlia Scheindlin, a political analyst, said that while a high turnout has been reported, it might not necessarily mean the end of political deadlock.

“It’s not that Israelis are happy about [another round of elections] … Of course, they want to end the uncertainty,” Scheindlin told Al Jazeera. “However, it’s not exactly logical because everybody voting simply reinforces the fact that everyone is divided.

“And we’ve seen in surveys from the very beginning of this election campaign until now [that] the blocs remain stubbornly tied,” she said.

Elections are more about ‘hatred’ than ‘concrete policies’: Analyst

Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst Marwan Bishara said the more elections Israel holds, the “more cruel they become and the more separate from the Palestinians they become”.

“Israelis vote for a government that rules over 15 million people, half of those … cannot vote because they are Palestinians living on the other side of the Green Line,” Bishara said.

“These elections are … more about politics, about hatred … than they are about concrete policies that for example, would end the occupation of Palestine, that they would allow for genuine equal rights among Israelis and Palestinians,” he said.

“We see none of that.”

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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