Netanyahu and Eisenkot Blocs Face Off in Israel's Knesset Vote
Israel is holding a pivotal vote to elect its Knesset, with roughly 7.3 million people eligible to participate. Polls opened on Tuesday, and voters across the country are heading to the ballot boxes.
Among those who voted on Tuesday were President Isaac Herzog, his wife Michal, and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, along with several other public figures.
According to the final opinion poll ahead of the election, the race is expected to be extremely close. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc is competing against an opposition alliance led by the Yashar party of Gadi Eisenkot, a former chief of the IDF. The polling data suggests that neither bloc may secure a clear majority if both sides keep their campaign commitments.
Exit polls will be released soon after voting closes at 10 pm local time and could give an initial sense of the results. Official figures, however, will take several days to confirm after the counting process is complete.
A local resident appealed to citizens to take part in the democratic process, urging all those over 18 to vote. Another said he considered this election to be the most important in Israel's history.
Ariel Everbuch, a former IDF major, warned that the election could end in a deadlock that might lead to another round of voting. While he predicted that the right-wing bloc, likely led by Netanyahu, would eventually win, he was concerned that the contest could finish in a tie.
He also commended Netanyahu's record on security, particularly in responding to Hezbollah, Hamas, Iran and the Houthi rebels. Everbuch said critics who claim the public is unhappy do not reflect reality, given that Netanyahu was leading the country during the deadliest terror attack on Jewish people since the Holocaust. He pointed to the pager attack on Hezbollah, the fight against Hamas, Israeli control over over 70 percent of the Gaza Strip, the strike on Iran and the response to the Houthis as evidence of tough and capable leadership.
The vote is the first since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack, and the political environment has shifted significantly since the 2022 elections, reshaping the priorities of voters.