the central elections committee said that 63.7 % of eligible voters have cast their ballots as of 8 pm , compared to the same time at the past four election campaigns .
polling stations across israel opened on tuesday at 7 am .
both the new york times and washington tel aviv — a weakened prime minister benjamin netanyahu emerged wednesday from israel ’s rightward tilt may be stalled .
line in tel aviv polling station ( photo : yaron brener ) voting will continue until 10 pm .
obama and netanyahu meeting in ny , sept. 2011 photo : reuters washington – it is possible that the american press would have paid more attention to the israeli election had it not coincided with the installation of its own executive leadership .
the vote in israel falls one day after united states president barack obama ’s second inauguration , which has dominated us media coverage over the past week .
for mr. netanyahu , who entered the race an overwhelming favorite with no obvious challenger , the outcome was a humbling rebuke as his ticket lost seats in the new parliament .
some 3.6 million israelis have already exercised their right to vote and polling stations are struggling to keep up with the flow of voters .
the 2013 election continues to break voter turnout records .