Netanyahu's continued focus: Voting in Israel's general election

[Jerusalem Current Affairs] Voting was held in Israel on the 27th for a general election (120 seats in the parliament). This is the first election since the October 2023 surprise attack by the Palestinian Islamic group Hamas. The biggest focus is on whether Prime Minister Netanyahu, who was unable to prevent the surprise attack and has since expanded military operations in the Palestinian autonomous region of Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran, will be able to continue in office. The election results are likely to have a major impact on the course of the situation in the Middle East.

According to the average predicted number of seats won by multiple opinion polls, the centrist opposition party Yashar (22.3 seats), led by former military chief of staff, Eisenkot, is in the lead, followed by Netanyahu's right-wing ruling party Likud (20 seats). Neither party will reach a majority, and coalition efforts are expected to take place after the election.

CNN TV reported on the 26th that Netanyahu had urged US President Donald Trump to jointly attack Iran just before the election. With the ruling party reportedly struggling, the move appears to have been intended to help break the situation, but Trump reportedly rejected the move.

On the 25th, Mr. Netanyahu posted an image on X (formerly Twitter) depicting a mushroom cloud caused by a nuclear attack. He incited voters' sense of crisis by quoting a right-wing political commentator's argument that Israel is facing an existential crisis due to Iran's nuclear program, and that if Netanyahu is not prime minister, there is a "danger of a second Holocaust."

Eisenkot called this approach "a tactic of lies and fear." He complained that Netanyahu had "failed" in attacking Iran, and stressed that the people would prove his failure through the election.

Elections are held using a proportional representation system. There is a possibility that both camps will fail in their efforts to form a coalition, leading to re-elections. Netanyahu will serve as prime minister until a new government is formed.