Israel is holding its fourth election in two years on Tuesday, with nearly 6.6 million citizens eligible to vote for the 24th Knesset, or parliament, writes AP.

It is widely seen as a one-issue referendum, with the electorate almost evenly divided on whether longtime Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should remain in power.

The national unity government formed in May 2020 by Netanyahu and his rival-turned-ally-turned-rival Benny Gantz collapsed in December after seven months of bitter infighting. The two had struck a power-sharing agreement that would have seen Gantz take over as prime minister in November 2021, but parliament automatically dissolved after the fractious government failed to pass a budget by a legally mandated deadline.