Israeli Parties Finalize Election Strategies for Last-Minute Votes

As the election campaign enters its final stretch, Israeli political parties are unveiling their closing strategies aimed at capturing undecided voters and solidifying their bases. The Likud party plans to intensify its warnings against a government reliant on Arab parties, framing such a coalition as a threat to national security and a move towards establishing a Palestinian state. They will highlight potential concessions on settlements and the reversal of current government achievements.

The Yashar party, led by Gadi Eisenkot, will focus on a security-centric platform, targeting disillusioned center-right voters. Eisenkot intends to call for a state commission of inquiry into the handling of the October 7th events and criticize the government's war aims. His campaign will also aim to suppress turnout in right-wing strongholds, a tactic previously used to his advantage.

Former Prime Ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid will concentrate on issues of conscription and national service, as well as professional governance. They aim to present themselves as a responsible, less political alternative to the current government, appealing to moderate religious Zionists, reservists, and secular middle-class voters.

Parties on the religious right are emphasizing their achievements. Religious Zionism will highlight the expansion of settlements in Judea and Samaria and the demolition of illegal Arab structures, promising further development in the Galilee and Negev, alongside continued judicial reform. Otzma Yehudit will focus on its success in liberalizing gun laws and improving conditions for security prisoners, advocating for a full right-wing government and criticizing Netanyahu's potential coalition plans.

Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu will sharpen its attacks on the ultra-Orthodox regarding the draft law and on the Likud for perceived concessions. He will also strongly condemn Arab parties to counter recent polling trends that have seen him lose support to the Likud, aiming to reassert his right-wing credentials with calls for the death penalty for terrorists and a government without Haredi or Arab parties.

The Democrats, led by Yair Golan, will center their campaign on a demand for a state commission of inquiry into the October 7th events, appealing to protest movements. Golan seeks to position himself as a radical leader of the protest camp, distinct from Bennett and Lapid, to retain his left-wing base.

Am Israel, headed by Maj. Gen. (res.) Ofer Winter, aims to stay above the electoral threshold by presenting itself as an independent right-wing alternative, urging disillusioned right-wing voters to support a more ideological right-wing government. The Haredi parties, Shas and United Torah Judaism, will focus on combating voter suppression within their sector and countering new Haredi protest parties by promising to protect Torah scholars and highlighting budget achievements in housing and education.

Arab parties, Ra'am and the Joint List, will leverage the disqualification of Balad chairman Sami Abu Shehadeh to mobilize Arab voters. They will emphasize the potential dramatic influence of Arab parties in a future left-leaning government and frame the disqualification as proof of their political power and the right-wing's fear of them, aiming to increase turnout by highlighting racism and exclusion.