Candidates from Israel's three major political parties stepped up their campaigns in the run up to parliamentary election. Analysts say the recent Israeli offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip will play a key role in determining who becomes Israel's next prime minister.

The three leading candidates are Kadima party leader Tzipi Livni, Labor's Ehud Barak and opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu for Likud.

Netanyahu is seen as the front-runner.

The major election issue is how to deal with the continuing threat of rocket attacks from Hamas in Gaza.

Israel launched a massive three-week offensive against the Palestinian Resistance Movement on December 27th. Nearly 1,300 Palestinians were killed in the fighting, about half of them civilians.

Benjamin Netanyahu, leader of the right wing Likud party, was Prime Minister from 1996 to 1999. Taking a hawkish stand, he has made his policy on Hamas clear.

Benjamin Netanyahu, Likud party leader, said, "There is only one thing that will remove the missile threat from Ashkelon and other cities and towns in Israel, and that's to bring down the Hamas government, and we will bring down Hamas government."

In a nation obsessed by security, Ehud Barak is the consummate military man and a former Chief of Staff.

Polls show Barak is the war's big winner. The popularity of his center-left Labor Party has soared in comparison with pre-war surveys.

Polls show the Labor party will likely garner 19 seats, up from just eight at the lowest point in polls.

Analysts contribute the rise to Barak's role as defense minister during the offensive.

Ehud Barak, defense minister, Labor Party leader, said, "We are the real movement that can bring security and peace to the state. When we need to strike again - not with words and not with abuse - when we need to hit our enemies strongly, We know how to do that."

But although Labor has unquestionably benefited from the war, polls predict Barak's party will trail both Likud and Kadima.

If Tzipi Livni wins enough seats to form the next government, she will become Israel's first female prime minister.

But Livni's centrist Kadima party is likely to lose some support. Analysts say voters expected her to work as foreign minister to buy more time from the international community for Israel's operation.

However, Livni has pledged to practice a different kind of politics if elected.

Tzipi Livni, foreign minister, Kadima Party leader, said, "We need to work simultaneously to continue the peace process according to the parameters that we discussed and agreed upon with our Palestinian partners while acting against terror and against Hamas".

Israelis vote for parties, not for candidates.

The 120 seats in the parliament are divided among the parties in proportion to the votes they get.

The new prime minister will need a 60-seat majority in his or her coalition to form a government.

(CCTV February 11, 2009)