Voters in Israel are deciding whether to oust Netanyahu after 3 years of war

Israel’s Arab-led parties could emerge as kingmakers — if other parties agree to join forces with them.

“Our vote will change the government,” Mansour Abbas, head of the Islamist Ra’am party, said while voting, adding that he hoped turnout would surpass 70% in Arab communities. Arabs in Israel make up about 20% of the population.

Israel’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, known for taunting Palestinian detainees and saying some Palestinians in Gaza are “not even people,” warned that “it will be Mansour Abbas’ government” if Netanyahu and his allies don’t win.

Almost 17% of Israelis voted in the first three hours, according to initial figures by the Central Elections Committee.

Emotions run high among some voters

Some emotions were high. In Kiryat Shmona, a Netanyahu stronghold near the border with Lebanon, one man kicked and tore down a poster of Eisenkot.

The election is Israel’s first national vote since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that sparked the war in Gaza and related conflicts. In Tel Aviv, families of some killed on Oct. 7 or former hostages held a moment of silence. “Remember all those whose voices are no more,” said Yona Adam, whose daughter Mapal Adam was killed.

Eisenkot early Tuesday visited communities attacked on Oct. 7. “If someone in the government had a shred of responsibility, they would start the morning here in the Gaza envelope,” he said, while Netanyahu had not yet been seen in public three hours after polls opened.

Around 330,000 young Israelis, many facing compulsory military service under the shadow of war, are eligible to vote for the first time.

Also hanging over the election are lingering tensions with Iran. Netanyahu ramped up threats ahead of the vote, warning Tehran it would face “a devastating blow” if it attacked Israel.

Security, military conscription and integrity are top issues

The vote serves not only as a referendum on Netanyahu’s leadership but also on what kind of country Israel should be — heavily influenced by religious and nationalist forces, or more firmly anchored in liberal and secular values.

Israel has found itself increasingly isolated over its conduct in Gaza and the West Bank. Public support among Americans has plummeted, and partners in Europe and elsewhere have slapped sanctions on Israel.

Netanyahu’s supporters see him as a steady hand and a consummate statesman who they believe has triumphantly guided Israel through multiple wars. They think he is protecting Israel’s Jewish identity while keeping in check what they see as an interventionist judiciary.

His Israeli detractors see him as a polarizing leader who, beset by an ongoing corruption trial, dragged on the war in Gaza and its hostage crisis for political reasons. They say he is undermining Israel’s independent judiciary and weakening its democratic underpinnings. And they accuse him of abetting a system that has allowed ultra-Orthodox religious Jews to avoid enlistment in Israel’s compulsory military.

“The present government is driving the country into the ground,” voter Angela Bengur said in Jerusalem.

Eisenkot is viewed by supporters as a capable leader with sterling security credentials who, along with his likely governing partners, could act as a bulwark against creeping illiberalism. As someone personally touched by the conflict — his son and two nephews were killed in Gaza — his backers believe that he feels deeply the pain that still courses through Israel.

Parties that likely would support Eisenkot have vowed to improve Israel’s international standing and work to conscript ultra-Orthodox men while bolstering the independence of the judiciary.

The elections are about “who serves and who evades service — who takes an active part in building this country and who doesn’t,” said voter Nisso Shitrit in Jaffa.

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Associated Press writers across Israel contributed.

Tia Goldenberg And Cara Anna, The Associated Press

by The Canadian Press

Voters in Israel are deciding whether to oust Netanyahu after 3 years of war

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