Benjamin Netanyahu's biggest challenger gears up for high-stakes election

The closing days of the Israeli election have been dominated by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stepping up his rhetoric on national security issues.

They include comments that Israelis face a "second Holocaust" from Iran's nuclear weapons, and economic sanctions from an increasingly hostile international community.

With polls showing that a majority of voters are opting for either Jewish or Arab anti-Netanyahu parties, and suggesting Mr Netanyahu's Likud party could fail to secure enough seats to form a majority government, Israel's longest-serving prime minister has sought to play on national security fears.

After an attack at a military checkpoint in Hebron, which killed two Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers, Netanyahu launched one of the biggest offensives in the West Bank since Israel illegally occupied the Palestinian Territory in 1967.

In addition to multiple arrests, Israeli security forces moved in to force more than 2,500 people out of their homes. Many of the buildings were subsequently bulldozed.

Mr Netanyahu also conducted a television interview in which he said Israel needed to set up a "bypass economy" to get around possible sanctions, painting a picture of a persecuted Israel being isolated by the international community.

Asked whether he was referring to cryptocurrency, Mr Netanyahu replied: "Very true, very true," adding that blockchain technology was another possibility.

In addition to drawing condemnation from political rivals and economists, the comments drew a rare rebuke by the Bank of Israel.

It said cryptocurrencies could not serve as a route to bypass sanctions and that political leaders should focus on policy that would render such measures unnecessary.

"The right course for Israel's economy is to preserve our economic relations with our main trading partners, and to focus on preventing sanctions and their negative impact on the economy," it said.

Mr Netanyahu escalated even further on Sunday, posting an AI-generated picture of a nuclear blast hitting a city widely interpreted to be Tel Aviv. He warned voters that choosing a leader unable to stop Iran's nuclear program could lead to a "second Holocaust".

In another interview, Mr Netanyahu said Israeli intelligence suggests Iran and its proxies may launch an attack to disrupt Tuesday's election, warning: "Don't test us, you will suffer disproportionately severe blows."

One of Mr Netanyahu's opponents, Yair Lapid, said the prime minister had "gone off the rails".

And a report in the Israeli media on Sunday night suggested the rhetoric had led to an unprecedented confrontation between Eyal Zamir, the IDF's chief of staff, and Mr Netanyahu.

Mr Zamir was reportedly concerned that Mr Netanyahu and the political leadership are steering Israel toward a potential miscalculation with Iran just ahead of the elections, which could lead to a dramatic and immediate escalation.

Netanyahu's opponents make their last pitches

Mr Netanyahu's supporters and allies view him as a leader with a lengthy record of achievements in office, who has kept Israel safe.

But his opponents have criticised him over allegations of corruption and his failure to hold an inquiry into October 7.

Mr Netanyahu's chief challenger, Gadi Eisenkot, told a rally of supporters in Tel Aviv on Sunday night that Israel faced a choice between international partnership and isolation.

The Yashar party leader said its future should not be fuelled by the fires of incitement, hatred, or foreign interests and should be free from lies and manipulation.

Mr Eisenkot, a former chief of staff of the IDF, warned voters that Mr Netanyahu would use any trick, lie or spin to get re-elected.

"The government has really done a disservice, not only by not taking any responsibility for October 7 and doing everything in its power to avoid the investigation of October 7, but also by polarising us from within, by isolating us from the world," Yashar party candidate Lianne Pollak-David told the ABC.

"So this government has to go home. It does not represent the spirits, the amazing spirit of Israelis."

Some of the speakers at the Tel Aviv rally represented residents of Israel's north, who have come under fire from Hezbollah in Lebanon and been forced to leave their homes.

Ms Pollak-David said Mr Eisenkot was getting support across Israel as a "kind of a father figure".

"He's not really that busy marketing himself, rather he's busy … listening to the pains of people, the communities that have been hurt. There are lots of them," she said.

"He is going to be that unifier, that father figure."

Mr Eisenkot is not proposing any major change of policies on issues like Gaza, Lebanon or the treatment of Palestinians in the West Bank.

But Ms Pollak-David said he "is going to bring back the word responsibility to the Israeli leadership".

"Now, that doesn't mean that everything that the international community wants [it] will receive right away," she said.

"No, and there may be still issues to be discussed, but mainly, there is a partner that we can work with … on establishing new alliances, on translating military achievements to strategic diplomatic achievements, on building a new region that is stable [and] prosperous … who also understands the importance of our closest allies."