video transcript

(ROUGH CUT ONLY - NO REPORTER NARRATION) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu casts his ballot on Tuesday (January 22) as Israelis began voting in an election widely expected to win him a third term in office. Polls predict Netanyahu's Likud party, which has forged an electoral pact with the ultra-nationalist Yisrael Beitenu group, will take the most seats in the parliamentary election, albeit considerably fewer than they had originally hoped. (SOUNDBITE) (English) ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU SAYING: "We want Israel to succeed, we vote Likud-Beitenu. That's why. The bigger it is, the more Israel will succeed, and my entire family concurs with me completely." Netanyahu has vowed to pursue the settlement of lands seized during the 1967 Middle East war if he stays in power, a policy that would put him at odds with his international partners and worsen already tense ties with U.S. President Barack Obama. No Israeli party has ever secured an absolute majority, meaning that Netanyahu, will have to bring various allies onboard to control the 120-seat Knesset. The former commando has traditionally looked to religious, conservative parties for backing and is widely expected to reach out to the surprise star of the campaign, self-made millionaire Naftali Bennett who heads the far-right Jewish Home party.