JERUSALEM: Israelis began voting on Tuesday in the first general election since Hamas's Oct. 7, 2023 attack, with voters to deliver their verdict on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the country's rightward drift.
Some 7.3 million people are eligible to vote, with the last polls to be published showing Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, running neck and neck with his main centrist rival Gadi Eisenkot.
Most polling stations will close at 10:00 pm (2000 GMT).
Netanyahu faces a tough battle to remain in the political scene as he contests the parliamentary elections, while voters assess his leadership in the aftermath of the 2023 attacks by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, alongside the wars in Gaza and with Iran, and the increasing international isolation of Israel.
Despite being Israel’s longest-serving leader with 19 years in power, Netanyahu remains a formidable opponent; nationalist politics have become more entrenched and the divided system in Israel might give him the advantage in forming the government.
Opinion polls show a tight race between Netanyahu’s Likud party and his right-wing allies, and a rival alliance led by Gadi Eizenkot, a former military chief known for his hard-line security stance, backed by right-wing and centrist currents.
Wartime focus for campaign
Netanyahu is focusing his campaign on his wartime leadership and alliance with US President Donald Trump, who publicly supported the Prime Minister and joined Israel in the war on Iran. On Sunday, Netanyahu said Trump is prepared to move again to “eradicate the Iranian threat permanently” provided he remains in power. Eizenkot accused Netanyahu of “relying on a campaign of intimidation, lies, and threats,” stating he is confident that Trump will act “in full cooperation with any leader chosen by the people.”
Netanyahu may again depend on far-right leaders Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich to form the government. Both have faced sanctions from some Western countries, accused of inciting violence against Palestinians, while Ben-Gvir’s Jewish Power party has shown progress in polls.
Neither Netanyahu nor Eizenkot has a clear path to power. If neither can form a ruling coalition in the 120-seat Knesset, Netanyahu may lead a caretaker government until another election next year.
Voting begins at 7 a.m. (0500 GMT) and ends at 10 p.m. (2000 GMT).
(With agencies)