Israelis vote in elections seen as referendum on Netanyahu

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 26 Oct, 05:31 · Archive

Israelis are voting in their first national elections since Hamas's October 2023 attack, widely seen as a referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's leadership.

Israelis are voting in their first national elections since the Hamas attack of October 2023, which is widely seen as a referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's leadership. The campaign has centred on Netanyahu's handling of the attack and its aftermath, his moral character, his role in a security breakdown on October 7, and a 2023 judicial overhaul that critics describe as an assault on Israel's democratic institutions. Candidates have also focused on Netanyahu's efforts to exempt ultra-Orthodox Jews from military service.

According to the Israel Democracy Institute, a Jerusalem think tank, around 68 per cent of Jewish Israelis say their attitudes towards October 7 are a central factor in deciding which party to support. Voters heading to the polls will see images of fallen soldiers on stickers at train stations and faded yellow ribbons honouring hostages, the last of whom were returned in a ceasefire deal in the past year.

There has been almost no debate during the campaign over Israel's wartime conduct in Gaza, its occupation of southern Lebanon and parts of Syria, or its two wars against Iran, all of which have broad support among the Israeli public. Both main electoral blocs are dominated by parties that support Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank and oppose the establishment of a Palestinian state, and no major candidate is advocating a return to the peace process.

How it is being reported

• A look at the main issues in Israeli elections seen as a referendum on NetanyahuIsraelis are gearing up to vote in the first national elections since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack out of Gaza.Clickorlando · 26 Oct, 05:07
• A look at the main issues in Israeli elections seen as a referendum on NetanyahuIsraelis are gearing up to vote in the first national elections since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack out of Gaza.News4Jax · 26 Oct, 05:07

In this story: Benjamin Netanyahu · Israel · Gaza · Hamas · West Bank · Lebanon · Syria · Iran

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