Israelis Vote in Knesset Election Where 120 Seats Decide Netanyahu's Future
Former IDF chief Gadi Eisenkot challenges the long-serving prime minister in a race defined by loyalty and personal conflict rather than traditional left-right divides.
By Samir Doyle ·
The Israeli Knesset has exactly 120 seats, and every single one is up for grabs in Tuesday's election. This number defines the stakes for Benjamin Netanyahu, who has served as prime minister for 19 of the past 30 years. The race is not a standard contest between the left and the right. Instead, voters are choosing between camps defined by their support for or opposition to the current leader. Polls indicate the two sides are neck and neck.
Gadi Eisenkot leads the main opposition challenge. He is a former Israel Defense Forces chief of staff who entered politics only four years ago. His party, Yashar, translates to straight or direct. Eisenkot proposes US-style term limits for the prime minister, arguing that power corrupts. At a rally in Modi'in, a city located between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, he called for a country without lies. Noa Sadeh, a 56-year-old attendee, said she is tired of politicians who only know how to talk. She wants a leader who will do the work.
The opposition bloc includes former prime minister Naftali Bennett and Avigdor Lieberman. Both are figures from the nationalist right who previously worked with Netanyahu before falling out with him. On the far right, Yishai Fleisher of the Otzma Yehudit party told voters in Bet Shemesh that Netanyahu drifts left. Fleisher argued for more settlements in the West Bank and Gaza. He also proposed a ministry to encourage the voluntary departure of Palestinians and the death penalty.
Netanyahu has shaped the campaign with posters that rhyme Yamin, meaning right, with Falastin. The ads place opposition leaders next to heads of parties representing Palestinian citizens. These citizens make up about one-fifth of the population. The closing weeks focused on whether anti-Netanyahu Jewish parties would rely on mainly Arab parties to form a government. Pro-Netanyahu media, particularly Channel 14, have kept his opponents on the defensive.
Tensions flared this week when Yinon Magal of Channel 14 called Eisenkot a Moroccan monkey. Speakers at the Modi'in rally raised the slur, but Eisenkot did not. Admirers viewed his silence as restraint. Doubters saw a politician who does not understand his opponents. The close polling puzzles observers given the events of the last three years.
The deadliest attack in Israeli history occurred on October 7, 2023, while Netanyahu was in power. His war in Gaza killed more than 70,000 Palestinians. Israel says a third of those were Hamas combatants, but the group was not eradicated. The country's international standing has suffered, and Iran's nuclear threat remains. Netanyahu also faces fallout from his court-curbing attempts and an ongoing corruption trial. Oded Levi, who voted for Netanyahu in 2022, now supports Eisenkot. He said the person who was prime minister then is responsible.
Netanyahu's durability rests on a loyal base built over three decades. His allies claim army and intelligence chiefs kept him in the dark about the October 7 attack, a claim they have not fully substantiated. He is also seen as a skilled coalition builder. Many expect him to outmaneuver rivals in the talks that follow the vote. Opposition hopes rest partly on liberal, secular expatriates flying home to vote. This group is not captured by standard polls and could matter if the result turns on a single seat.
