[Breaking news, posted at 4:12 p.m. ET]
Voting has closed in Israeli elections. Preliminary exit poll estimates released by a major Israeli TV channel show the Likud party headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a slight lead over Isaac Herzog’s Zionist Union. Netanyahu has 28 seats, compared to 27 for Herzog, CNN affiliate Channel 2 Israel reported. Channels 10 and 1 show the two tied with 27 seats each.
[Original story, posted at 3:06 p.m. ET]
Millions of Israelis are casting their votes to determine their country’s next Prime Minister and the makeup of its parliament.
Ballots are for political parties rather than individual candidates. Israel has a proportional representation system, meaning a coalition government is likely to be formed within its 120-seat Knesset.
Polls will close at 10 p.m. local time (4 p.m. ET).
The next Prime Minister will have to tackle international and domestic crises, including security, foreign relations, the Palestinian question and rising concerns about the high cost of living in Israel.
On Tuesday afternoon, incumbent Benjamin Netanyahu released a video on his Facebook page urging his supporters to vote, suggesting that leftists are bringing “huge amounts” of Israel’s Arab citizens to the polls to vote against his Likud party.
“The right regime is in danger, the Arab voters are coming in huge amounts to the polls,” Netanyahu says. “The leftists are bringing them (Arabs) in huge amounts to polls using buses. … We have an urgent wake-up call.
“Vote for Likud so we close the gap between us and Labor party.”
Arabs make up about 20% of Israel’s population.
Moshe Kahlon, a former Likud minister who now heads the Kulanu Party, said Netanyahu’s statement “clearly shows he is feeling the pressure.”
“These remarks were inappropriate and regrettable,” Kahlon said.
Here’s a look at three people in the running to be Prime Minister:
Benjamin Netanyahu — Likud
Netanyahu paved the way for new elections when he dismissed two members of his coalition Cabinet in December.
He spent part of his teen years in the United States, where his father taught at Cornell University.
He served for six years in the Israeli Army in an elite commando unit until he was wounded in a rescue operation during an airplane hijacking in 1972. He returned to the United States, earning degrees in architecture and business.
In 1976, Netanyahu’s brother was killed in a raid to try to free hostages in Uganda from an Air France jet hijacked by pro-Palestinian terrorists. Netanyahu set up an anti-terror institute in his name. His outspokenness on the threat of terrorism attracted attention, and he was given high-profile diplomatic assignments.
In 1988, he was elected to the Knesset. In 1996, he became Israel’s youngest Prime Minister. He was defeated three years later after signing an interim peace agreement with then-Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. In 2009, he again became Prime Minister.
CNN’s Elise Labott says Netanyahu’s emphasis on security — particularly speaking out loudly on Iran — and his counteroffensives against Hamas in Gaza have boosted his popularity in Israel. But Labott says peace with the Palestinians remains elusive, and Netanyahu is finding himself increasingly alienated from Western partners.
As negotiations with Iran near a crucial state, Netanyahu has sided against the White House, telling the U.S. Congress this month that a proposed agreement was “a bad deal” and would not be supported by Israel, which would stand alone if necessary to defend its people.
Isaac Herzog — Labor
Isaac Herzog is seen as Netanyahu’s main challenger, with final polling before the election showing his Zionist Union alliance holding a four-seat edge over Netanyahu’s Likud.
Herzog believes it is his destiny to be the next Prime Minister. He comes from Israeli political royalty. His grandfather, Rabbi Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog, was the first chief rabbi of the state of Israel. His father, Chaim Herzog, was an Army general, an ambassador to the United Nations and the President of Israel.
Before entering politics, Herzog served with a military intelligence unit of the Israeli Defense Forces, rising to the rank of major, and worked as a lawyer and served as the director of the Israel Anti-Drug Authority.
He began his political career in 2003, when he first won a seat in the Knesset with the Labor Party. He held a variety of ministerial positions, including minister of housing and construction, minister of tourism and minister of welfare and social services before becoming leader of the Labor Party in 2013. In those elections, he also became the leader of the opposition, as Netanyahu won another term as Prime Minister.
Herzog has pegged his bid for the premiership on social reform, vowing to “change the nature of the division of wealth.” He has also promised to restart stalled peace talks with the Palestinian Authority. In a speech almost immediately after Netanyahu’s address to Congress, Herzog also promised to work with world powers to ensure the safety of Israel.
Herzog’s Labor Party and the Hatnua party agreed in December to run on a join ticket in the election, forming the Zionist Union alliance. Herzog and Tzipi Livni, leader of Hatnua, decided on a rotation agreement, meaning each would serve as Prime Minister if the alliance won.
That deal appeared shaky heading in the vote, with Livni suggesting she would give up the rotation if it became an obstacle in forming a coalition.
“The partnership between me and Herzog is genuine and firm and nothing has changed. This is the partnership that turned these elections to a historical opportunity to replace Netanyahu. I made it clear in the past and I say today, too — the rotation between us will not be an obstacle in the way to replace Netanyahu,” read a statement on Livni’s Facebook page.
Tzipi Livni — Hatnua
Livni is the leader of Hatnua and chair of the Zionist Union.
Like Herzog and Netanyahu, she served with the IDF and additionally was a member of Israel’s intelligence agency, Mossad.
Livni later studied law in Israel and practiced until 1996, when she unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the Knesset. She was the director general of the Government Companies Authority before being elected to the Knesset in 1999, as a member of Likud.
While with Likud, she held ministerial posts, including the agriculture and regional cooperation portfolios.
In 2005, Livni joined the Kadima party created by Ariel Sharon and in 2006, became minister of justice and minister of foreign affairs.
As foreign minister, Livni spearheaded Operation Cast Lead, Israel’s extensive military offense in Gaza, alongside then Defense Minister Ehud Barak. She also played a major role in helping end Israel’s 2006 war with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
In the 2008 elections, Livni was elected leader of Kadima, and the party won 28 seats in the Knesset the following year. However, she was unable to form a coalition, and Netanyahu was instead asked to form a government. Livni resigned as foreign minister and became leader of the opposition, a role in which she was high-profile and vocal but viewed as largely ineffective.
In 2012, she lost her leadership of Kadima and resigned from the Knesset. Later that year she formed the Hatnua — or “movement” — party and joined Netanyahu’s coalition as justice minister. Livni was one of two ministers dismissed by Netanyahu, sparking this year’s election.