The Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has voted in the country’s general election, fighting to stay in office for a fourth term.<br /><br /> The last opinion polls put the centre-left opposition in the lead but all will depend on potential coalition partners.<br /><br /> Casting his ballot at a school in Jerusalem, the prime minister vowed that he would form what he called a “national government” – meaning right wing – and that there would be no union with the left.<br /><br /> He acknowledged that his opponents’ lead had widened.<br /><br /> “To prevent the rise to power of a left-wing party, there is only one thing to do – close the gap, and vote for Likud,” the prime minister said.<br /><br /> Evidence suggests many Israelis are tired of Netanyahu’s focus on national security and Iran’s nuclear programme. He has warned of the dangers of a leader who might yield to Palestinian statehood or nuclear diplomacy with Tehran.<br /><br /> Netanyahu’s rival Isaac Herzog, co-leader of the Zionist Union with ex-peace negotiator Tzipi Livni, hav
