Netanyahu Faces Election Amid Gaza War, Hostage Crisis
Voters head to polls Tuesday as national focus shifts to security and the fate of 41 believed dead hostages.
Carla Rooney
Benjamin Netanyahu faces an election on Tuesday.
The October 7 attack killed at least 1,195 people. Donald Trump declared, "When you go to the Polls please remember that Bibi has been an outstanding warrior prime minister!"
Gadi Eisenkot has vowed to dismantle de facto military exemptions for ultra-Orthodox men. Fewer than 10% of ultra-Orthodox men enlist upon reaching conscription age.
When you go to the Polls please remember that Bibi has been an outstanding warrior prime minister!
The cost of living remains a critical concern for many Israelis. Netanyahu's plan to overhaul the judiciary drew mass protests throughout 2023.
A sitting prime minister in Israel is legally entitled to remain in post while on trial. Former Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar filed a defamation lawsuit against Benjamin Netanyahu.
Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and former premier Yair Lapid formed a party called Together. Former Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman quit Netanyahu's government in 2018.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich spearheaded the expansion of West Bank settlements. Around four million voters expect to cast ballots.
Neither Netanyahu, Eisenkot, Bennett, nor Lieberman supports the creation of an independent Palestinian state. Almost all Jewish-led parties now oppose the 'two-state solution'.
All major political figures endorse permanent Israeli military control over the West Bank and back settlement expansion across Area C of the occupied West Bank.