Jerusalem, Israel, October 26 (ANI) — Israel is heading to the polls in less than 24 hours in what is shaping up to be one of the country’s most bitterly contested elections. The vote comes at a fragile time for West Asia, with Israel embroiled in the conflict with Iran and facing pressure on its southern border amid its confrontation with Hezbollah.
For incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the central campaign message is that only he can keep the Iranian threat at bay, particularly with the endorsement of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Netanyahu’s coalition comprises his own Likud Party, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s pro-settler Religious Zionism party and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s far-right Jewish Power party.
His closest rival is former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, who has presented himself as a security hawk and political outsider.
Other contenders include the alliance led by former prime ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, former Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman and a four-party coalition headed by Yair Golan that includes significant representation from Israel’s Arab minority.
Israel uses a party-list proportional representation system. Voters cast their ballots for lists of candidates, and each list receives seats in the Knesset in proportion to its share of the vote. Only lists that receive at least 3.25% of the valid votes participate in the allocation of seats. The Knesset has 120 members.
After the election, the country’s president, Isaac Herzog, assigns the task of forming a government to a member of the Knesset, who may then present the proposed government to the legislature. The government must win a vote of confidence in the Knesset to take office. All Israeli governments formed to date have been coalition governments.
According to The Jerusalem Post, the four latest election surveys, which closed October 23, show that Eisenkot’s Yashar party leads Netanyahu’s Likud Party. However, neither of the two major political blocs has enough seats to secure a majority in the 120-member Knesset.
On Sunday, Netanyahu invoked Trump’s endorsement to warn of dire consequences if his coalition fails to return to power. Netanyahu posted an AI-generated image on social media depicting a nuclear explosion in Tel Aviv, warning voters two days before the election that choosing anyone other than him could expose Israelis to the danger of a “second Holocaust.”
Quoting right-wing activist Yuval Blumberg, Netanyahu’s post stated, “The State of Israel is in real and tangible existential danger. If the Iranians acquire nuclear weapons, nothing will ever be the same again. Everything is so trivial compared to the existential threat of Iran and the Shiite axis.”
The post continued, “We have another two years of Trump to finish the work in Iran, and there’s no telling what will come after that—whether it’s Kamala Harris or some other mediocre figure. This is the window of time we have left to complete the necessary work to ensure our physical existence for the coming years. All the required resources of the state must be invested in this mission… This won’t happen with a prime minister who can’t pick up the phone and have a continuous, intimate conversation with Trump.”
Earlier, Trump endorsed Netanyahu for a second time, writing on Truth Social, “When you go to the polls, please remember that Bibi has been an outstanding Warrior Prime Minister! Israel was called The Little Satan, with the United States being called The Big Satan, by some very evil people. There can no longer be the chant heard around the world of ‘Death to America, Death to Israel,’ and there won’t be. Vote for Bibi Netanyahu for Prime Minister, we have to finish the job that we started.”
Eisenkot, meanwhile, has used the events of October 7, 2025, to portray Netanyahu as weak on internal security.
“The man during whose watch the greatest disaster in the state’s history occurred refuses to understand that Israel’s security is not a political bargaining chip, the lives of Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers are not forfeit, and the State of Israel is not his personal property… Israeli citizens will put an end to the rule of recklessness and restore responsibility, statesmanship, and Israel’s security,” Eisenkot wrote on X.
The contest pits Netanyahu, a veteran political survivor, against a former military chief in a fiercely fought election. The outcome could reshape not only Israeli politics but also the broader situation in West Asia. (ANI)
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