Israel Votes in 120-Seat Race Pitting Netanyahu Against Gadi Eisenkot

Israelis cast ballots on Tuesday in a general election for the 120 seats of the Knesset.

The vote functions less as a traditional left-right contest and more as a direct referendum on Benjamin Netanyahu. He first took office 30 years ago and has held the premiership for 19 of those years. Current polling indicates the two emerging camps, pro-Netanyahu and anti-Netanyahu, are running neck and neck.

The leading opposition challenger is Gadi Eisenkot, a former Israel Defense Forces chief of staff. Eisenkot, the son of working-class Moroccan Jews, entered politics only four years ago. His party, Yashar, translates to "straight" or "direct." He advocates for US-style term limits for prime ministers, arguing that power corrupts. At a rally in Modi'in, located between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, attendees praised his plain speaking style. Noa Sadeh, 56, said she is tired of politicians who only know how to talk and wants someone who will do the work.

The opposition bloc includes former prime ministers Naftali Bennett and Avigdor Lieberman. Both are figures from the nationalist right who previously worked closely with Netanyahu before parting ways. On the far right, Itamar Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit party also frames its pitch around the incumbent. Yishai Fleisher told voters in Bet Shemesh that Netanyahu drifts left and must be pulled right. He proposed more settlements in the West Bank and Gaza, a ministry to encourage voluntary Palestinian departure, the death penalty, and more weapons for Jewish civilians.

Netanyahu has shaped the campaign narrative with posters offering a rhyming choice between Yamin and Falastin. The posters place opposition leaders alongside the heads of two parties representing Palestinian citizens of Israel, who make up about a fifth of the population. The closing weeks focused on whether anti-Netanyahu Jewish parties, which are forecast to outpoll his bloc but lack a majority, would rely on mainly Arab parties. Pro-Netanyahu media, specifically Channel 14, have kept his opponents on the defensive.

Tensions flared this week when Channel 14 host Yinon Magal called Eisenkot a Moroccan monkey. Speakers at the Modi'in rally raised the slur, but Eisenkot did not. Admirers viewed his silence as restraint, while doubters saw a politician who does not grasp the intensity of his opposition.

The close polling puzzles observers given the circumstances under which Netanyahu has served. The deadliest attack in Israel's history occurred on October 7, 2023, at the Nova festival and southern kibbutzim. His subsequent war in Gaza killed more than 70,000 Palestinians, with Israel stating a third were Hamas combatants. The conflict did not eradicate Hamas, and Iran's nuclear threat remains. Netanyahu also faces fallout from his court-curbing bid and an ongoing corruption trial. Oded Levi, who voted for Netanyahu in 2022 but attended the Eisenkot rally, stated that the prime minister then is responsible for the events.

Netanyahu's durability rests on a loyal base built over three decades. His allies promote an account that army and intelligence chiefs kept him in the dark about the October 7 attack, a claim supporters say is unfounded. Opposition hopes also rest on liberal, secular expatriate Israelis flying home to vote. This group is not captured by standard polls and could determine the outcome if the result turns on a single seat. On Thursday, a state ceremony marked the 1995 assassination of Yitzhak Rabin. Netanyahu stayed away and sent a low-ranking minister. Yair Golan, leader of the Democrats, said he is optimistic and hopes opposition leaders can agree on a regional strategic process for long-term security.