No Palestinian state, if elected

Israelis were voting yesterday in a close-fought election pitting the centre left against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who ruled out a Palestinian state in a last-ditch appeal to the far-right.

Heading to the polls on a cold, sunny day, voters cast their ballots in an election seen as a referendum on the Netanyahu years, with turnout unusually high among defiant Arab Israelis.

The last polls published on Friday indicated a narrow win for the centre-left Zionist Union, with the outcome likely to determine the prospects for new Middle East peace talks and Israel's troubled relations with its US ally.

In a last-ditch appeal to the far-right ahead of the vote, Netanyahu ruled out the establishment of a Palestinian state if reelected, effectively reneging on his 2009 endorsement of a two-state solution.

Breaking with years of diplomatic obfuscation on the question, he told the Israeli NRG website today: "I think that anyone who goes about establishing a Palestinian state today and vacating territory is giving attack territory to extremist Islam to be used against the state of Israel. That is the real reality that has been created here in recent years. Whoever ignores this is putting his head in the sand."

Asked by his interviewer whether that  meant, "If you are prime minister than there won't be a Palestinian state?'' Mr Netanyahu replied simply: "Indeed.''

Some 5.8 million people are eligible to vote in the election, with 25 parties in the race for the Knesset's 120 seats.

But even if Netanyahu's rightwing Likud party does end up losing, he could return to power by virtue of Israel's complex proportional representation system.

With smaller rightwing and religious parties likely to win more seats than the left, experts say Netanyahu has a better chance of piecing together a majority of at least 61 seats needed to win backing for a coalition.

Polling stations opened at 7:00am, with campaigners putting up party banners and bunting outside, as in Jerusalem the first voters shuffled in to place their slips in a blue ballot box.

Voters had until 10:00pm (2000 GMT) to cast their ballots and nine hours into the voting, turnout stood at 45.4 percent, down slightly from at the same time during the 2013 election.

Exit polls were to be published minutes after polling stations closed.

It is Israel's third election since 2009 and the biggest challenge yet for Netanyahu, who is seeking a third consecutive term but has seen polls giving Isaac Herzog's Zionist Union a three-to-four seat lead.