As Benjamin Netanyahu slowly made his way through crowds of adoring supporters on Tuesday night, it looked as if one of the most important battles of the election campaign was already behind him.

Whether he will indeed emerge as Israel’s next prime minister will only be known after polling day on February 10. But he can enter the final stretch of campaigning safe in the knowledge that the entire election has shifted on to a terrain where Mr Netanyahu and his Likud party hold a natural advantage: security.