JERUSALEM, April 9 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's main challenger Benny Gantz on Tuesday called on Israelis to "vote for a change" in parliamentary elections that will decide whether Netanyahu will remain in power despite corruption allegations.
Gantz, Israel's former Chief of General Staff and leader of the Blue and White party, arrived at a voting station in the city of Rosh Hayin in central Israel, with his wife, Revital, to cast his ballot.
"Go vote," Gantz urged, telling Israelis they should bear responsibility for their democracy.
"This is a day of hope, a day of unity," he said. "I am looking at the people of Israel in the eyes and telling them: a change is possible. I offer myself as Israel's prime minister and together we will take this new path."
Netanyahu and his wife Sara cast their votes at the Paula Ben-Gurion School in Jerusalem and later went to a calling center to urge potential Likud voters to go to the ballots.
Gantz and his newly-formed party pose the toughest challenge to the long-serving prime minister, with opinion polls predicting Blue and White a slight advantage over Netanyahu's Likud.
However, Netanyahu is still likely to form the next coalition as the right-wing bloc appears significantly larger than the left-center bloc, according to the polls.
Netanyahu is fighting for a fifth term in office, which will make him the longest-serving prime minister of Israel, surpassing even the country's founding father, David Ben Gurion.
For Netanyahu, the elections are also a struggle for his political survival. In February, Israel's attorney general announced he intends to indict Netanyahu in three separate cases of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust, pending a hearing. If he wins the elections, he might stand to trial before the end of the term.
The voting began at 7 a.m. local time (0400 GMT) at over 10,000 polling stations across the country and is due to end at 10 p.m. local time (1900 GMT).
According to Israel's Central Election Committee, about 6.34 million Israeli citizens are eligible to vote.
About 40 parties are vying for the 120 seats in the one-chamber Knesset (parliament).
