 Two days remain to elections in Israel and the final poll show Prime Minister Netanyahu making gains against his rivals in the home stretch In a final mass protest before the elections thousands of demonstrators gather in Jerusalem last night to call for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to resign And a new survey finds a rise in pro-Israel Sympathies across Europe after some of the positive developments this last year will discuss Hello, you're watching I-24 news. Thanks for joining us this hour live from Tel Aviv. I'm David Matlin here with a look at the hours Latest now just two days remain until election day in Israel and the now final in recent polls here show Prime Minister Netanyahu Making some gains against his rivals in this home stretch of the campaigns now in recent weeks Opposition leader Yair Lapid had issued an open call to Netanyahu to engage with him Tel Aviv's debate not been held by front-running Israeli party leaders since 1999 but it appears no debate will take place as Lapid calls Netanyahu What I'm quote scared and the Prime Minister says Lapid is simply refusing to admit that he's running for the premiership For now with the vote on Tuesday the various parties are divided along lines of pro or anti Netanyahu For his part seeks to extend his unprecedented 12-year run as head of state Now the leader of the ultra orthodox United Torah Judaism party. Excuse me Moshe Moshe Gaffney that is now said yesterday that his party will quote-unquote weigh its options if Prime Minister Netanyahu does not secure a Majority coalition on Tuesday's election at a list of potential partners for Netanyahu's Lee Kud party have been reduced to this In its round now to the ultra orthodox and the far-right parties with some speculation still around Naftali But it's the Amina party the statement by Gaffney this carries some significance as United Torah Judaism It's been a key partner in Netanyahu's block which is so far relied on He's relied on them to so far prevent the formation of a more centrist or even secular coalition now after these previous elections No, we're joined by Dalia Shenlin the pollster and political strategist. Thanks for being with us Dalia How big a factor is the national fatigue right now? We're talking about the fourth election within two years and many people it feels unsure who they'll vote for what does that factor in? When we talk about election fatigue Usually people think it's going to matter in terms of voter turnout And expect a plunge in voter turnout so far We're not seeing a major indication of a sharp drop in voter turnout in the surveys yet Let's remember that there's a big difference between levels of Jewish turnout versus Arab Palestinian citizens of Israel Which we usually have lower turnout than Jews But I think that the fatigue is seen in the stability of the vote when it comes to supporting parties that support Netanyahu or oppose Netanyahu and the most striking thing is the consistency of the surveys in reaching the same deadlock on that issue that we've seen in all three previous cycles Don't know what's going to happen on election day But as of the final polls that were released on Friday and I Collected six different polls that were released on Friday the last day when polls could be published and the average is simply 60 60 out of 120 parliamentary seats like in every other cycle Netanyahu does not have a majority the opposition does not have a majority We're looking at a deadlock and what will break that deadlock is not the voters But the decisions of the party leaders who I hope this time will come to a decision that leads to a government At least so we don't go into a fifth election, but it's not an impossibility Well along those lines then considering the prospects for a functioning government are as narrow as ever What do you see in terms of the possibilities for a functional government to emerge? It's not impossible that on election day Netanyahu does emerge with 61 seats We have seen that in the final week Likud rose slightly in the polls with you know The average perhaps two weeks ago was 28 29 seats and He ended the final week with about 30 seats on average one poll even had him at 32 seats It's not it wouldn't be the first time that his final count on election day rises above the very last polls As the undecided make their decisions and people who weren't sure gravitate towards the big parties So Likud could well do better and maybe even above 32 seats The main question is whether those additional seats come from additional voters Or whether he simply takes away From parties within the block of parties who are already supporting him for a coalition In which case it doesn't mean he has 61, but if he takes them away from gi don sa Who has run on a platform of going uh forging a government without him if he takes those voters back Or reaches new voters undecided voters those who weren't sure if they were planning to turn out or Arab voters And then he really could reach over 60 and it's not that far off because he is at an average of 60 seats right now That's one option We may see a winner emerge on election day or an election night or maybe wednesday And that would be netanyahu the other option is that he doesn't reach 60 he or 61 He has 59 or 60 seats of parties that support him There are more seats going to the opposition parties I call them opposition for shorthand because they're not necessarily opposed to netanyahu ideologically They're opposed to his leadership and those parties enter a negotiation for a coalition They will have a hard path because they have already expressed too many boycotts of one another For forging coalition But in that case there is a slightly higher likelihood that one of the pro netanyahu parties naftali benitz yamina Could break away from the netanyahu block and join the opposition block and if that happens it opens up More potential permutations that could lead to an opposition government But it won't be easy to make a decision over who will be prime minister yair la pide gi don sar or naftali benit Or a rotation of some sort it will be a complex animal in that case And the other option is fifth elections now they for so many years arguably throughout israel's history Exit polls across the spectrum have indicated security is the main factor driving israeli's decisions at the polls With the corona virus largely on its way out here the vaccine campaign so successful the economic hardship Is it a different set of factors right now in terms of looking at the economy? And in that light do the last year's events since the last elections they play in the favor of prime minister Netanyahu likely to have a boost from the situation I'm sorry to disappoint you but there's very little that's changing the position of netanyahu throughout this time He has consistently retained his position as the top party still with insufficient votes for a majority His range is in the upper 20s to the mid 30s and it has not changed now I will make a slight correction polls generally show that a security is very high priority But whenever security threats recede when they're when we're not in an active situation of escalation or war The economic issues are number one the two issues economy and security always jockey for number one When we ask the public about their national most urgent priorities by that they mean cost of living which is You know high and troubling for people Long before corona so that that issue is always there the problem is that economic issues don't really divide the israeli public There's much more agreement than disagreement. So it doesn't truly affect how people vote It's just another factor that people point to if they want to point to israel's strong macroeconomic data As a reason to support netanyahu or the deep and severe inequalities in israel economic inequalities if they oppose netanyahu And the corona crisis hasn't truly changed that it's just introduced a new set of factors that go into how people already see the economy Which is basically boosting their pre-existing political positions for against netanyahu And that's why I don't think we've seen his position change very much despite The severe economic crisis massive unemployment Over the course of the year And the same is basically true about the vaccination campaign across the board People give him credit for having run a successful vaccine rollout israel is very you know thrilled and appreciative and I don't think takes it for granted that the vaccines have been distributed so efficiently the economy is opening up Still a contest around he has still contest certainly around that the position in and Personality of prime minister netanyahu dalya shenlin. Thanks for being with us Thank you for having me Now just ahead of these elections here one last massive protest took place last night in jerusalem still calling for the Resignation of prime minister netanyahu here. This has been an ongoing movement for the last nine months or more here Here's some of the protesters themselves if netanyahu Succeeds in establishing extreme right-wing government and Trying to avoid his trial by Any new kind of french law or whatever And then the people are going to be mad and it's going to be spontaneous We are here to protest against netanyahu and his corrupt government. This is our last chance before the election We want everyone to come and Now stepping out for a short break here at i-24 noon is just two minutes. Stay with us We'll be right back to look at other stories including a new survey out of europe that sympathies for israel have grown across the continent this last year. We'll explain stay with us Into the middle east conflict. I'm jeff smith together. We'll zoom in sunday through thursday nights only On i-20 fact 24 news. Thanks for staying with us through the break as we continue live from telebyte here this hour and With hundreds of thousands of israelis typically living abroad at any given time the country's lack of an absentee voting system Places unique pressures on those citizens around elections Especially in this two-year time period in the fourth consecutive vote now just two days away Here's a look at the situation from canadian journalist robert sarner for i-24 news While politicians in israel make their final pitches to voters ahead of tuesday's election Many israelis outside the country are increasingly focused on their non voting In recent days by way of hebrou language zoom events and call-in talk shows abroad Ex-patriot israelis have been debating whether they should have the right to vote in israeli elections The law currently says the only non resident israelis allowed to vote are diplomats and other official emissaries Even those out of the country temporarily such as professors on sabbatical Students doing postgraduate studies or doctors undergoing training can't cast a ballot Although the issue is not new It's taken on a new relevance in part due to travel restrictions linked to covet That have prevented many israelis from flying back to vote part of the reason that it's raised now It's because we are more organized as a community of expats And we're more vocal in our participation in israeli affairs at the moment Matt yash an israeli musician living in berlin since 2016 is leading a grassroots movement Known in english as vote abroad israel Its goal to have the law changed so israeli citizens outside the country can vote in elections As part of their campaign they've launched a website and a petition Are active on social media and will engage all mks elected to the next kinesit But not everyone agrees as an israeli who lives abroad. I don't think that we have the right to influence The politics in israel if we don't live there we don't pay tax there We don't serve in the military there or we don't pay our dues And in the end of the day, we still have the right, but it's gonna Be in a cost of a plane ride to israel if israelis abroad were granted the right to vote Their electoral impact would be significant given the number between an estimated half a million to 800 000 With little available data, it's unclear which political parties would benefit most Despite the challenges ahead those involved in the vote abroad israel initiative are upbeat about their prospects I'm optimistic and I think I have a good reason to be because This is not the first time the subject is raised. It's been a discussion on and off for the past 20 years There is a lot of research that has already been done We're not alone in this. There are a lot of countries around the world who are currently Reexamining their laws. I think Greece just recently passed legislation allowing expat greeks to to vote So this is really An issue of our times and I think that we're ready to deal with it if some israelis abroad reject this initiative It's safe to say almost all share an interest in Tuesday's vote Organizers of the campaign say that unlike most issues in israel, this is not a partisan question And while they're confident that they will ultimately succeed They know they still have a long way to go before the law will be changed This is robert sarner reporting for i24 news in toronto And looking at the coronavirus updates here in israel to 8 000 israelis now per day Will be allowed to travel through ben garyone airport and that begins today after restrictions on the Movement of citizens expired at midnight last night Now following a high court ruling last week now Deemed those restrictions against the civil rights without any absentee ballot system Those were just detailed there israelis happen trying to come home out of tuesday's election Following weeks of stringent limitations aimed at stopping the spread of coronavirus variants now in the face of these easing regulations though Health officials expressed some concern that infection rates still on the rise in many countries around the world New daily infections have been dropping in israel rapidly with just a 1.8 Percent infection rate yesterday and now more than four and a half million israelis already fully vaccinated Looking at the palestinian authority here president mahmouda boss Received his first dose of a covet 19 vaccine on saturday all ahead of the start of the vaccination drive in the west bank and gaza Now over 61 000 vaccine doses reportedly arrived in ramallah last week after the Part of the first delivery of the united nations covax program with some 20 000 of those doses Going directly to the gaza strip according to the reports here the palestinian vaccination drive will begin with those aged over 75 cancer patients and medical personnel Now 20 countries in the european union have seen an increased COVID-19 infection rate this week europe struggled to speed up the inoculation drive coupled with the Rise in infections has forced several countries back into lockdowns. Here's the latest by 24 news georgia barnett Fears of a third coronavirus wave are escalating throughout europe and several countries are locking down to combat the spread But their decision to do so has not been taken lightly We are here today in university square to protest the restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic These restrictions affect us economically, socially, culturally Germany is one of 20 countries on the continent that have warned of an exponential growth in infections With only 8.5 percent of germany's population having received their first dose The temporary suspension of the astrazeneca vaccine has further slowed significant inoculation progress The motto is vaccinate vaccinate and vaccinate we want to get on as fast and as flexible as possible with the vaccination process A sluggish rollout has impacted several EU nations with poland recording the largest amount of residents on ventilators since the pandemic began Italy is considering importing the spotnik v vaccine after becoming the third country to exceed 100 000 deaths last week And a partial Paris lockdown is in action But for the uk things are looking up. I'm absolutely delighted to tell you that we have now vaccinated half of all adults in the united kingdom It's a huge success. I want to say many many thanks to all those involved including The half of all adults who've come forward It's so important because this vaccine is our way out of this pandemic With a slow-paced vaccination drive making the rise of new variants all the more likely for most of europe The road to recovery is a bumpy one Information coming out of europe here a recent survey by the research institute, you go this is reporting increased sympathetic attitudes towards israel across the continent now the main country surveyed with the united kingdom France, germany, denmark and sweden and now the two main reasons behind the uptick and support were the Normalization agreements that is real signed with the united arab emirates and buff rain And the country's successful coronavirus vaccination campaign which has been noticed with the world over With an overall eight percent increase in positive attitudes toward israel the survey found a 50 jump in france for example Now to get more on these Results and what they really might mean here. We're joined by liora hyatt the spokesman for the israeli ministry of foreign affairs Thanks for being with us here Looking at these survey results How do you explain the rise in turn? We see the factors that they seem to be looking at favorably But this comes really after some years of dismal figures out of europe towards israel So clearly a new chapter of relations are at least a new perspective First of all, hello everyone It's actually we see the the change in a matter of a policy we Seen europe as an important a Area for israel and we also see israel as an important a partner for Europe and since they Foreign minister gabi ashkenazi entered the ministry of foreign affairs almost eight months ago He decided to put a israel as a europe Sorry as in the center of our attention We had over 20 visits a from a high level authorities from europe We've been working with them the foreign ministers visited europe a Place twice in the net with all the foreign ministers In europe and i think that the main thing was a change in a Dialogue instead of talking about A annexation we're talking about normalization and there was a change in the way that european see A israel we they see israel as an asset to europe both in the Changes that we've been there living in the Middle east in the last few months But also in the way that israel has been treating the coven 19 Crisis and coupled with all that it's been a year of notable A lack of major conflict on the palestinian front must have Some to do with the perceptions around europe as well But looking at this positive element we're in here from the foreign ministry perspective what opportunities can emerge from this What what new doors may be open? I think this is just the beginning of a change and we're far from being satisfied with that say We you mentioned that there wasn't a major conflict to the palestinian that's true But we can also see that over the last 30 years. There's been a decrease of a Many percentage of the way the european media has been covering the israel in the back in 2008 68 percent of the news from israel were Conflict related and now we're talking about less than 30 percent which is a major change europeans read More about israel but more about technology in israel more about tourism in israel more about health issues in israel and less about the conflict in israel and it Changes the way to look at At israel we have to continue to create those a different bridges of dialogue with a They with europe and with the europeans in general and we have to understand that they are Forces within europe that are trying to get the The dialogue back to where they feel comfortable with which is a conflict I think we are heading to the way towards the right place But we are far from being satisfied. Well, certainly still work to be done Thanks for being with us here the order hi up from the it's ready for ministry Thank you so much Now about panic eruption in iceland on friday created some spectacular sites here and took place after Months of earthquakes actually now coming to the relief of some citizens are erica jackson takes a look Lava continuing to flow after a volcano near iceland's capital rakevick erupted for the first time In about 6,000 years on friday Iceland is no stranger to volcanic activity But it was the first volcanic eruption in almost 800 years in this area of the country Which is the most heavily populated part though the eruption was considered small is still created a fissure That was about 1,640 feet long and spewed over 10 million square feet of lava Which at times reached heights of more than 300 feet But the eruption was far away enough that evacuations weren't needed while structures weren't endangered This is in some ways as Harmless as an eruption to see us as you can expect But actually surprisingly little to look at in terms of what eruptions can be The eruption also not disrupting flights with iceland's international air traffic hub Keplavik airport saying flights staying on schedule since the eruption started this eruption will not affect air traffic No, the this is an effusive eruption, which means that it's mostly producing lava The smoke that is coming out of it is is minor. There's no ash coming from it. So there is no air traffic Considerations that we have to worry about The volcano also spewing activity on social media With singer bjorg taking to instagram to write yes eruption. We in iceland are so excited A seismologist in iceland also taking to twitter to write first photo of the eruption. Wow The volcanic activity had taken place after over 40,000 small earthquakes happened in iceland in recent weeks That's all for updates this hour die 24 news as always. Thanks for joining us. I'm david matlin live in televieve