not everywhere· Politics· Updated 26 Oct, 23:48

Israel Election: Security Dominates, But Other Issues Also Shape Vote

Israelis are voting on Tuesday in the first election held since the October 7 Hamas attack and the subsequent war. The election is widely viewed as a reckoning for the security failures surrounding the attack, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu facing intense criticism. Families of hostages and survivors are urging voters to remember the attack and demand accountability.

3 newsrooms · 1 language · since 26 Oct, 18:37

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Israel Election: Security Dominates, But Other Issues Also Shape Vote — Illustration by baba

What happened

01Israelis are voting on Tuesday in the first election since the October 7 Hamas attack and the subsequent war.
02Kibbutz Be'eri residents and hostage families are calling for accountability from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over security failures.
03Netanyahu has rejected blame for the October 7 attack and resisted calls for an independent investigation.
04Opinion polls predict a drop in Likud support, but a fragmented opposition could lead to a political stalemate.
05Netanyahu warned of a second Holocaust using an artificial intelligence-generated image of a nuclear explosion over Tel Aviv.
06Challengers Gadi Eisenkot and Naftali Bennett also prioritize confronting Iran and Hamas but criticize Netanyahu's strategy.
07Military analysts note that fundamental security challenges will remain for any new government after nearly three years of multi-front conflict.

While opinion polls predict a drop in support for Netanyahu's Likud party, a fragmented opposition makes a clear governing path uncertain, potentially leading to political stalemate. Netanyahu has rejected blame for the October 7 breach and resisted calls for an independent investigation. Ahead of the vote, he employed stark rhetoric, using an artificial intelligence-generated image of a nuclear explosion over Tel Aviv to warn of a second Holocaust if a leader incapable of confronting Iran were elected.

Netanyahu's main challengers, Gadi Eisenkot and Naftali Bennett, also prioritize confronting Iran and removing the terrorist organization Hamas from power, though they differ on strategy. Eisenkot criticized Netanyahu's approach as hysterical and accused him of threatening voters after failing to achieve his war objectives. Analysts suggest that while a change in leadership might alter the approach to conflicts in Gaza and Judea and Samaria, the fundamental security challenges will remain after nearly three years of conflict on multiple fronts.

Summarized by baba from the reports of 3 newsrooms. Updated 04:07

Latest report: Haaretz English. Read Haaretz English’s original