Israeli Political Blocs Face Internal Strife Amidst Election Campaign

With one week remaining until the election, both major political blocs are reportedly focused on internal conflicts rather than external campaigning. The "change bloc" is experiencing significant infighting. Avigdor Lieberman, chairman of Yisrael Beiteinu, accused Gadi Eisenkot, chairman of the "Yashar!" party, of seeking to ally with Benjamin Netanyahu and labeled him "Benny Gantz 2." This accusation comes after Eisenkot stated he would not support a minority government, a stance supported by Eisenkot. Despite having recently collaborated, Eisenkot now blames Naftali Bennett, chairman of the "Achva" party, and Lieberman for hindering his chances of victory. Bennett had previously declared that a certain Democratic chairman was too controversial for sensitive positions and expressed willingness to work with Netanyahu, though he later retracted this statement. Although the bloc is sometimes referred to as the "Eisenkot bloc" and leads in polls, it lacks unified support. Without a clear victory on October 27th, the cooperation between Eisenkot, Bennett, Lieberman, and Golan could collapse.

Meanwhile, the Netanyahu bloc is also experiencing internal disputes. Haredi parties are considering defecting to Eisenkot's bloc, believing they will not achieve their conscription law goals in a narrow right-wing government. Itamar Ben-Gvir continues to clash with Netanyahu, with Likud responding in kind. Bezalel Smotrich is attacking the Haredi parties to distance himself from the conscription controversy. Concurrently, Ofer Winter, a new independent member of the bloc, has declared allegiance to Netanyahu, who is reportedly trying to keep him out as part of his traditional mandate strategy. With polls indicating Netanyahu lacks a majority in the upcoming elections, his natural partners are reportedly feeling less aligned this week.