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Has the clock run out for Netanyahu?

Many factors will help determine the outcome of Israeli elections, including general apathy and whether voters feel that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has overstayed his welcome.
A Likud party election campaign billboard depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seen above a billboard depicting Benny Gantz, leader of Blue and White party, together with his top party candidates Moshe Yaalon, Yair Lapid and Gaby Ashkenazi, in Petah Tikva, Israel April 7, 2019. REUTERS/Nir Elias - RC14AD4D6860
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At the beginning of the campaign for the April 9 Israeli elections, it seemed the whole cycle would focus on one question: Can the party of a prime minister suspected of serious crimes win the support of the masses for another term and allow him to break the record for time in office set by David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister?

It seemed for a moment that the campaign was all but over when Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit announced his intention to indict Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for bribery, fraud and breach of trust, subject to a hearing, but the polls — which have played a major role in this campaign despite having been so off the mark in the past — revealed that Mandelblit's decision had had no real effect.

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