Opinion polls predict a close race when Israel goes to the polls on Tuesday, five months after an inconclusive election in which Netanyahu declared himself the winner but failed to put together a coalition government.

"A Likud victory is possible but it's hanging by a thread," said Abraham Diskin, political science professor at Jerusalem's Hebrew University, referring to Netanyahu's right-wing party.

An end to the Netanyahu era after his 10 successive years in power would be unlikely to lead to a dramatic change in Israel's policy on hotly disputed issues in a peace process with the Palestinians that collapsed five years ago.