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Netanyahu Faces Close Race as Fraying Loyalty Evident in Stronghold
· 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 in polls days before the election, with both camps employing bots, deepfakes, and data manipulation.
Former IDF chief Gadi Eisenkot, Netanyahu's main challenger, is gaining traction, especially in areas where Netanyahu's support has traditionally been strong.
Eisenkot, 66, is campaigning on government accountability, military service reform, and a different approach to managing the war in Gaza.
In a sign of fraying loyalty, some residents in Likud strongholds are considering voting for Eisenkot, who is described by his supporters as 'one of us' in Moroccan Arabic.
Eisenkot’s Yashar party is projected to be the largest in the Knesset after the election, according to the latest polls.
Netanyahu faces a close race, with recent polling showing 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, and has received an endorsement from former President Donald Trump.
The election could reshape Israel's future, with Netanyahu seeking another term despite corruption charges and Eisenkot promising reform.
The use of bots, deepfakes, and data manipulation highlights the intense competition between the two camps.
Netanyahu's chief rival, Gadi Eisenkot, attended a rally in Tel Aviv, signaling a shift in traditional voting patterns.
The election will determine whether Netanyahu can retain power or if Eisenkot can form a coalition to govern.
What this adds
The election could potentially end Netanyahu's long grip on power, with no single party expected to win a majority.
Background
The Premier League and its counterparts in Germany, Spain, and Italy have called for whoever wins next year’s presidential election to convene an independently chaired Governance Convention within their first 100 days in office.
The upcoming Israeli election on October 27, 2026, faces uncertainty with no clear winner.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Trump issued what he called his “Complete and Total Endorsement” of Netanyahu on Sunday, describing him as a “Great Warrior Prime Minister” and praising his partnership with the United States against Iran.
- Netanyahu, who polls show is in a close race to hold on to power, has issued warnings in recent weeks to Iran, the militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah and even the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority, vowing retaliation in case of an attack.
- The rest of the mandates would go mostly to two Arab-led parties, which could theoretically provide the anti-Netanyahu bloc with the margin it needs to govern, except that several members of that bloc have ruled out including these Arab-led parties in a future government.