Israelis vote today in a closely watched election that could unseat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Even if Netanyahu loses, new leadership is unlikely to radically change Israel’s trajectory on issues important to the US.
“Any new government is likely to be constrained from making wholesale changes to its approach on Palestinian issues,” Council on Foreign Relations senior fellow Elisa Ewers said. “To the extent that US public opinion is driven by Israeli government policy on the Palestinian file in particular, it’s going to be difficult for a new Israeli government to demonstrate enough change quickly enough to overcome some of the challenges.”
Netanyahu’s main challenger, former Israel Defense Forces chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot, opposes Palestinian statehood and has pledged to destroy Hamas’ military wing.
A new prime minister would also inherit difficult choices on Iran, including how to respond to Tehran’s preparations for renewed fighting, Ewers added.
— Lauren Morganbesser