Netanyahu Unveils Security and Judicial Reform as Core Themes for Upcoming Election Campaign

Ahead of the official start of the election campaign tomorrow, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is finalizing the Likud party's strategy. According to Channel 14 news, Netanyahu outlined two main pillars for the campaign during recent strategic discussions with ministers and Knesset members. The first pillar emphasizes the government's security achievements since the October 7 massacre, highlighting operations against Iran’s leadership, Hezbollah, Hamas, and missile production capabilities. Netanyahu plans to stress that Hamas leadership has been eliminated, Israel controls about 70% of the Gaza Strip, and the security threat to Israel has been significantly reduced. In northern Gaza, the campaign will highlight the destruction of approximately 93% of Hezbollah’s estimated 150,000 missiles and the security agreement with Lebanon. In the West Bank, the campaign will focus on settlement expansion and the removal of at least 100 illegal Palestinian outposts, alongside cooperation with the United States and efforts to recover hostages.

Netanyahu intends to contrast these achievements with the positions of his political rivals, particularly former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot and his allies, accusing them of promoting policies that would lead to Israeli concessions. He will frame the choice for voters as a clear question: "Who do you prefer?" The second pillar of the campaign centers on judicial reform. Netanyahu has ordered the preparation of a detailed list of government decisions and laws previously blocked by the Supreme Court and the Attorney General, presenting this as a key election issue. The campaign will portray the choice as Netanyahu and judicial reform versus continued "rule by bureaucrats," naming Deputy Attorney General Gil Limon and Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara as symbols of the current system. Netanyahu aims to make judicial reform a prominent and explicit election topic so that no one can claim it was not presented to the public during the campaign.