Voting percentage in Israel is at a record level so far. Many people are considering these elections being held in the country as one of the most important elections in the history of Israel.
According to the survey released on Friday, there is an almost equal contest between current Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and former army chief Gadi Aizencott in the race to become Prime Minister.
But it is being estimated that neither of the two political alliances will get the required 61 seats to form a majority government. This means that after the elections, political tussle over government formation may continue for several weeks or months.
Issues of democracy and security have dominated the election campaign and this election is largely being seen as a measure of public opinion on Netanyahu's rule.
On Tuesday morning, several major parties complained of alleged irregularities at polling stations across the country. But Israel's Central Election Committee (CEC) says there is no evidence of systematic tampering with ballot papers.
Israel has an electoral system of proportional representation. Because of this, the governments there have always been in coalition and in the race for power, many times such coalitions have been formed which were not expected. But this time the contest seems to be particularly tough and the parties have already made it clear with whom they can go and with whom they cannot.
Aizencott, leader of the recently formed Yashar Party, is the main face of the so-called 'Change Bloc'. This alliance includes parties that have ideological differences, but their common objective is to remove Netanyahu from power.
Other leaders of this coalition include former Prime Ministers Naftali Bennett and Avigdor Liberman. Both are right-wing leaders and take a strict stance on security issues. Apart from these, former leftist general Yair Golan is also in this alliance.
Netanyahu, a veteran of Israeli politics, became Prime Minister for the first time in 1996. His return to power will depend on whether he can once again form a coalition with far-right and ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties. These same parties are also included in their current government, which is considered to be the most right-wing government in the history of Israel.
An alliance of two Arab parties is also in the fray in this election. About 20 percent of Israel's population is Arab and many of these people call themselves Palestinian citizens of Israel. Theoretically, these parties can play an important role in forming power. But all but one of the major Jewish parties have refused to work with him.
The issue of security has dominated the election campaign. The opposition coalition has targeted Netanyahu for the unprecedented security lapse that preceded the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7. About 1,200 people were killed in these attacks and 251 people were taken hostage to Gaza.
Opposition parties have demanded the formation of a commission to independently investigate these attacks. Netanyahu has been opposing this for a long time and says that this commission will be biased against him.
Opposition parties also point to threats to democracy under Netanyahu's rule. Netanyahu is facing trial on corruption charges, which he denies. He is also pushing controversial plans to reform the justice system. There were large-scale protests against these plans before the October 7 attacks.
Despite attacks from the opposition, Netanyahu has once again presented himself as 'Mr. Security'. He cites his government's stated strategic successes in Israel's wars in the Middle East and his close relationship with US President Donald Trump as the basis for this.
On Sunday, Israel's Channel 12 reported that Netanyahu had advocated military action ahead of the election that could lead to conflict with Iran. But Israel's military chief Ayal Zamir opposed it. The next day, CNN reported that Netanyahu had also tried to persuade Trump to launch new attacks on Iran, but Trump refused to approve it. Netanyahu has rejected both reports.
In the last days of the election campaign, Netanyahu also remained in the headlines regarding another matter. He posted a picture created by AI, which showed a nuclear bomb falling on Tel Aviv. He warned that if Iran acquires nuclear weapons, only they can protect Israel. Eisencott described him as 'hysterical'.
Another big issue has been military recruitment. Netanyahu's government has failed to implement a Supreme Court ruling that ultra-Orthodox Jewish men pursuing full-time religious studies should be drafted into the army. This is a highly controversial issue, as thousands of other people have been conscripted into the army to fight in recent wars.
Eisencott's stance on the Gaza issue is largely the same as Netanyahu's. He has promised to end Hamas rule in Gaza within 18 months. For this, this will be done either through a US-led peace plan or if necessary, military action will be taken.
Since the ceasefire last year, Israel has been attacking Gaza almost every day. He says that Hamas fighters are targeted in these attacks. According to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry, more than 74,000 people have died in Israeli military attacks since the war began. The United Nations considers these figures reliable.
International criticism of Israel over its war tactics has increased and its relations with its allies around the world have deteriorated.
Eisencott widely supports Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. These settlements are illegal under international law. However, he wants to crack down on extremist Jewish settlers, whose attacks are at an all-time high according to UN data.
He has also called for creating conditions for the Palestinians in which they could have "autonomy or status less than a state", but with ultimate security control remaining with Israel.
The idea of a two-state solution, that is, creating an independent Palestinian state in peaceful coexistence with Israel, has almost disappeared from mainstream Israeli politics.
Some have speculated that Arab parties may informally support the minority government led by Aisenkot. But Liberman, who is among the potential allies, has refused to be part of such an arrangement.
Due to these complications, the calculation of seats after the elections has become very complicated. Now it has to be seen what concessions, compromises and changes in stance are possible after the results are out.
It is being told that a record 70,000 people from abroad have returned to Israel to vote, while thousands of people are going to vote for the first time.
Israeli broadcasters will release the exit poll on Tuesday at 10 pm Israeli time. This will give some idea of the voting trends, but there can be a lot of difference in their results.
Israelis across the country will gather to watch the results come in. Netanyahu's Likud party will gather in Jerusalem, while Eizenkot's Yashar party, formed last year, will gather in Tel Aviv.
Hundreds of thousands of Israeli soldiers and reserve soldiers will also vote, but counting of many of these votes will not begin until Wednesday. This means that late in the results, right-wing parties, which are believed to have strong support in this category, may get an edge.
Although the election is often being described as a direct contest between Eisencott and Netanyahu, some other leader may also come to power. This can happen when that leader refuses to support his party's alliance and instead demands the post of Prime Minister.
The outcome many fear is political impasse. That means a situation in which no coalition can gain majority and a minority government cannot be formed. In such a situation, new elections will be held and Netanyahu will remain the interim Prime Minister.
