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Netanyahu Faces Close Race as Fraying Loyalty Evident in Likud Strongholds
· Confirmed
In Short: In the lead-up to Israel's October 27 election, signs of weakening support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emerge in traditional Likud strongholds.
Netanyahu and his rivals are tied days from the vote, and both camps are fighting with bots, deepfakes, and data, according to Al Jazeera.
Eisenkot is campaigning on government accountability, military service reform, and a different approach to managing the war in Gaza.
Supporters of Eisenkot in these areas describe him as dialina, Moroccan Arabic for “one of us,” highlighting a shift in voter sentiment.
Polls show Netanyahu and his governing coalition slipping, with the opposition bloc projected to win 52 seats compared to 50 for Netanyahu’s alliance.
Despite the close race, Netanyahu has issued warnings to Iran, Hamas, and Hezbollah, vowing retaliation in case of an attack.
Eisenkot’s Yashar party is on course to be the largest in the Knesset after the election, according to the JC’s analysis.
Some Likud loyalists remain steadfast, but others are considering other options, reflecting a broader trend of fraying loyalty.
Eisenkot’s campaign has also faced legal challenges, with a court ruling that Likud’s Arabic-language signs could mislead voters.
The election will take place under a rain forecast, but weather has never decided voter turnout in Israel’s history.
Humanitarian concerns in Gaza are largely ignored as both candidates vow to end Hamas rule.
Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has called for Netanyahu’s removal, accusing him of betraying Israel’s national interests.
What this adds
In the lead-up to Israel's October 27 election, signs of weakening support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emerge in traditional Likud strongholds.
The opposition bloc is projected to win 52 seats compared to 50 for Netanyahu’s alliance.
Eisenkot’s campaign has faced legal challenges, with a court ruling that Likud’s Arabic-language signs could mislead voters.
Background
In the lead-up to Israel's October 27 election, signs of weakening support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emerge in traditional Likud strongholds.
In the lead-up to Israel's October 27 election, signs of weakening support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emerge in traditional Likud strongholds.
What's confirmed
- Opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot, who is challenging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel's upcoming elections, is a former military chief.
- Exactly a week away from the Israeli Knesset election, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made an unannounced visit to Israel on Monday, during which he met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Axios reported, citing two sources with knowledge.
What's still developing
- Several of them show Netanyahu confronting his alleged failings before the Hamas-led attack of October 7, 2023; others show the opposition being sympathetic to Arab parties (those representing the Palestinian citizens of Israel) which have been perceived by many as kingmakers in the coming election.
- "I don't want the lies to continue," she said.
- "All of our money is at risk," the campaign video said, showing Netanyahu in his earlier Channel 10 interview saying that Israel must "prepare for an alternative economy" amid the myriad of international sanctions facing the country.
- You can reach him on jjaffa@thejc.com The Yashar leader looks to be the frontrunner to form the next government, but will likely face a struggle to assemble a workable coalition Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar is on course to be the largest party in the Knesset after next week’s Israeli elections, the JC’s analysis of the latest polls has found.
- “I want Netanyahu to be prime minister. He’s a leader. I prefer him a million times over Eisenkot,” Ben-Gvir tells me in a rare interview on Oct. 19, referring to Netanyahu’s chief rival, the former military chief Gadi Eisenkot.
- On October 27, Israelis will head to the polls in an election that could reshape the country's future, with Benjamin Netanyahu seeking another term despite corruption charges.
- Trump praised Netanyahu as a partner in combat… The United States imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC), escalating its campaign against the court over its investigations of the United … CENTCOM announced the completion of the US military withdrawal from Iraq, ending Operation Inherent Resolve in the country.
- Netanyahu’s chief rival, Gadi Eisenkot, attended the rally that was an echo of the weekly ones once held to call for the release of hostages taken into Gaza.
- Demonstrators rallied in the public plaza known as Hostages Square in Tel Aviv on Saturday, three days before Israel’s first general election since the genocidal war on Gaza began.
- With polls showing that Netanyahu and his governing coalition are slipping in their struggle to retain power in the upcoming October 27 election and lag behind the opposition bloc, an endorsement from the president of the United States is a powerful statement.
- According to Newsmax, Vance told journalist Mark Halperin that he would not get involved in Israel’s election, explaining that his focus is on the Nov. 3 U.S. midterm elections.
- Netanyahu and Hegseth discussed "the threats in the region" and the US-Israel partnership in dealing both offensively and defensively with those threats, he said in a brief phone call.