Poll fails to inspire Israelis

The election is Israel's third in four years

By Elizabeth Blunt BBC correspondent in Jerusalem

Election day dawned chilly and damp in much of Israel.

Government offices and many businesses were closed, and armed soldiers in combat dress patrolled the streets.

All roads lead back to security

Israeli voter

Voting started slowly but picked up gradually during the morning, until by lunchtime the turnout figures were only just below those in the last two elections.

Israelis are usually enthusiastic voters.

Seventy per cent is considered a low turnout here, despite an electoral roll so out of date that some voters - if they are still alive - would be 120 years old.

'Least worst choice'

But this has been an election that no-one really wants, and opinion polls have showed that a victory for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Likud Party is virtually a foregone conclusion.

Jenin: Four Palestinians were shot dead by the Israeli army

Few of the voters who spoke to the BBC at polling stations sounded very enthusiastic.

"I didn't vote for the best man - I voted for the least worst man," said one Likud voter.

He then added, gloomily, that he expected the same thing would happen again and he would have to vote all over again in another year or 18 months.

Others complained about how little attention the parties had paid to the flagging economy, or to political corruption.

But, said one man, the economy was the result of the security situation.

"All roads lead back to security," he said.

Taking no chances

The one thing not likely to deter Israelis from voting is fear.

The authorities have been warning for days that there could be a high risk of a Palestinian attack during the election, but Israelis already live with the daily threat of violence.

The poll is being contested by 27 parties

In any case, the Israeli army is taking few chances.

The roadblocks which control movement throughout the nominally autonomous West Bank and Gaza have been completely closed to Palestinians since Sunday morning, and curfews have now been imposed in several Palestinian towns.

In Jenin, the Israeli army killed four young men during what it said was an operation to prevent "terrorists" leaving the town to carry out attacks.

The crackdown reinforces the prime minister's reputation for toughness.

He has fought this election on a platform of an uncompromising refusal to negotiate with the Palestinians as long as attacks on Israelis continue.

Ebbing support

It has paid off. One Jerusalem voter explained her Likud vote quite simply: "We have to keep on being strong."

The new parliament - like the old - is certain to be a patchwork of competing groups

The Labour Party - the second biggest party in the outgoing parliament - insists that talking is the only way to stop the violence.

It has campaigned for a complete separation between Israelis and Palestinians and for a Palestinian state within a year.

But this hasn't gone down well with voters. The Labour leader Amram Mitzna has had to watch his party's support drain away.

Now no-one believes Labour can win.

There is some doubt whether it can even come second, or whether it will be overtaken by Shinui - a party which has made rapid gains by pitching its campaign at secular, middle-class voters.

With a proportional representation system and more than 20 parties standing, the new parliament - like the old - is certain to be a patchwork of competing groups.

The task for whoever wins this election will be to stitch them together to get a overall majority and a stable coalition government.