File photo taken on Nov. 12, 2019 shows Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attending a press conference in Tel Aviv, Israel. Israeli Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit announced on Nov. 21 that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been indicted in a series of corruption cases. The indictment marks the first time an incumbent prime minister is being charged with bribery. (Gideon Markowicz/JINI via Xinhua)

 Israel's embattled premier Benjamin Netanyahu, nicknamed Bibi, faced off against longtime rival Gideon Saar for the Likud party leadership on Thursday, in a contest that could threaten his grip on power. 

A defeat for Netanyahu, 70, would be a shock, but even a relatively close result could weaken his influence over the conservative party he has dominated for 20 years.

In power as premier for a ­decade, Netanyahu early next year faces a third general election within 12 months and has been indicted in a multi-pronged corruption probe.

But to lead Likud into the next national poll, he must overcome the internal party challenge.

Polls in that party race opened across the country at 9 am (07:00 GMT), with Likud's roughly 116,000 eligible voters having until 11 pm to choose between Netanyahu and Saar. Results are expected early Friday morning.

At a polling station in the Kiryat Moshe neighborhood of Jerusalem, Rami David said he voted for Saar because "he would give Likud a new image."

Saar, 53, has been a senior figure in the Likud for a decade and held multiple ministries.

He is seen as slightly to the right of Netanyahu and has called for an even more hawkish policy toward the Palestinians. 

Saar and Netanyahu have spent recent days crisscrossing the country, with Saar seeking to portray himself as a more electable leader.

The campaign's most dramatic moment came Wednesday evening when Netanyahu was rushed off stage while campaigning in Ashkelon in southern Israel near Gaza, after what the army called a "projectile" was fired from the Palestinian enclave.

The winner of Thursday's vote will lead Likud into Israel's third national poll within 12 months.

The general elections in April and September saw Netanyahu deadlocked with centrist challenger Benny Gantz, neither of them able to command a majority in Israel's proportional parliament.

Last month, Netanyahu was indicted for fraud, bribery and breach of trust in three corruption cases, allegations he strongly denies.

A series of polls in recent weeks have indicated a Saar-led Likud might win fewer seats in a third election than under Netanyahu, but the overall rightwing bloc might be larger - potentially yielding a viable governing coalition.
Newspaper headline: Bibi, Saar face off for leadership