Israel Election: Netanyahu Faces Eisenkot in Tight Race

Israel is holding a national election in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is locked in a tight race with Gadi Eisenkot, a former head of the Israel Defense Forces, for the premiership. Other opposition figures, including former prime minister Naftali Bennett, Avigdor Lieberman and Yair Golan, are also running.

Eisenkot formed his Yashar Party only last year. His popularity is linked to his military record and his status as a political newcomer. He lost his son, a soldier, in the early months of the Gaza war and resigned from Netanyahu's war cabinet in 2024 over disagreements about the conflict. His campaign centres on accountability for the security failures that led to the 7 October attacks.

Bennett and Lieberman are right-wingers who back permanent Israeli control over much of the occupied West Bank. Golan is a left-winger who supports Israeli withdrawal from large parts of the territory. Despite their differences, they could potentially work with Eisenkot to form a government.

Netanyahu leads what the report describes as the most right-wing government in Israel's history. To stay in power, he would likely need support from far-right coalition partners. Some of those partners advocate annexing the West Bank and the "migration" of Palestinians from Gaza, language that could amount to forced displacement. Some members of Netanyahu's Likud party have made similar calls regarding Gaza.

Two Arab party blocs are also contesting the election. About one-fifth of Israel's population is Arab, and many identify as Palestinian citizens of Israel. In theory, these blocs could be kingmakers, but all but one of the leading Jewish parties have ruled out working with them.

A year after the Gaza ceasefire, Israel continues near-daily strikes on the territory, saying it targets Hamas operatives, and controls more than half of Gaza. More than 74,000 people have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since 7 October 2023, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, whose figures the UN considers reliable.

In the West Bank, settler attacks are at an all-time high according to UN records, and Israeli settlements, which are illegal under international law, are expanding rapidly. For Palestinians, the outcome of the election is a major factor in their daily lives.

On Gaza, Netanyahu and Eisenkot hold similar positions, both backing Donald Trump's peace plan under which Hamas would surrender its weapons in exchange for a phased Israeli withdrawal. Eisenkot has pledged to end Hamas rule within 18 months, by military means if necessary.

In the West Bank, Netanyahu's camp wants to continue settlement expansion. Eisenkot supports settlements generally but opposes the E1 project, which would effectively split the West Bank in two. He also wants to close unauthorised settler outposts on Palestinian land, work toward a final peace settlement, and crack down on extremist Jewish settlers.

A two-state solution was long backed by many mainstream Israeli politicians, though Netanyahu has long opposed it. Support for the idea has declined for years, and none of the leading Jewish parties are campaigning on it this time; many have rejected it outright.

Source: BBC World.