It’s veteran Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu versus the veteran General Gadi Eisenkot: the duel at the heart of Israel's election has produced the highest turn out ever. Is this rebellion at the ballot box?
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It’s arguably the most consequential vote in Israeli history, the outcome will define the country's place on the world stage, and could mean the difference between war and peace.
Netanyahu has always looked supremely confident on previous election days, but not this time. Stormy weather did nothing to prevent the highest turnout since records began in 1973, including amongst Palestinian citizens of Israel who tend to vote in lower numbers.
For the first time, Netanyahu has asked for polling stations to stay open later and on this national holiday took to social media to implore his voters to go cast their ballots.
The Israeli parliament, the Knesset, is made up of 120 seats. That means a government needs 61 to command a majority, and the proportional voting system means that's never one single party, but a coalition.
The two biggest groups are led by Eisenkot's Yashar party, and Netanyahu's Likud. But the latest polls predict neither will have enough seats for a majority, meaning we could be headed for weeks of negotiations while both rivals try to get the numbers for a government, or hash out a way to work together.
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0:00 - Intro
0:38 - Israel election: the last push for votes
2:20 - How Israeli voters feel
5:06 - Is Netanyahu rattled?
6:17 - ‘Netanyahu will do anything to stay in power'
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