Jerusalem (CNN) — The pundits in Israel, the United States and the West Bank have pretty much forecast the winner of Tuesday’s Israeli national elections.

Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing political coalition with former Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman– Likud Beitenu — will prevail. He’ll trot to the finish line in an easy horse race, analysts say, citing poll after poll.

But this is just the first stage in forging a new government. After the election for Knesset seats, the arduous government coalition-building begins.

That’s not a horse race, It’s a bit of “foreplay,” as one newspaper put it, and hard-nosed political jockeying.

For now, the 34 parties running from the right, center, and left are maneuvering but digging in their ideological heels.

“The data projects not a more right-wing Knesset,” said Michael Singh, managing director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, “but a more polarized one.”

Polls show that Netanyahu’s party will get the most seats of any party in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, and his bloc will be the core of the predominantly Jewish state’s new government.

The powerful bloc will attract a mainstream Israeli in a country many say is moving rightward.

They are anxious over anti-Israel Hamas adherents next door in Gaza, the chaos in nearby Syria and Egypt, and the nuclear machinations of their No. 1 foe — Iran.

When Netanyahu declares “we are living in a dangerous neighborhood,” that’s a deeply felt message resonating for a critical mass of Israeli Jews, from the Negev to Netanya.

video from U-Tube shows what issues Jeremy Gimpel is concerned with

Text  via For Israeli voters, missile fire, money main issues in Tuesday election – CNN.com.

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