Benjamin Netanyahu faces a strong challenge from Gadi Eisenkot, the former head of Israel’s military, in an election that has become a contest over the country’s political direction, ABC News Australia reports. Israelis are due to vote on October 27 after years of war, domestic upheaval and pressure on Israel’s international standing.
Eisenkot leads the newly established Yashar party, whose name means “straight” or “honest.” The opposition movement says voters need greater openness after what it describes as years of obstruction and deception under Netanyahu. Eisenkot previously served as Israel’s chief of the General Staff after Netanyahu appointed him to the post in 2015.
Polling cited by ABC shows Yashar potentially becoming the largest party in the Knesset. A Channel 13 survey gave it 22 of the parliament’s 120 seats, narrowly ahead of Likud on 21. The same poll projected 53 seats for an Eisenkot-led opposition grouping and 53 for Netanyahu’s current coalition, leaving neither side with a majority.
Other polling, including surveys from Channel 14, presented Netanyahu and Likud in a stronger position and indicated that the existing right-wing coalition could retain a majority. The competing results point to a potentially fragmented parliament in which the leading candidates could need support from smaller parties, including parties representing Palestinian citizens of Israel.
The election is taking place under a coalition government described by ABC as Israel’s most right-wing in history, with influence from nationalist ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir. Eisenkot’s supporters are seeking votes from the political center by emphasizing the cost of living, internal divisions, international isolation and concerns about the country’s direction.
Gideon Rahat of Hebrew University told ABC that the election would help determine whether Israel moves toward an “extreme right” and religious state or remains a liberal democracy. Despite the possibility of a change in government, ABC reported that a new administration might not substantially alter key policies on the war in Gaza or the occupied West Bank.