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Posted on 10/26/2026 9:52:55 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israelis will vote in a pivotal election Tuesday as their country is embroiled in unresolved wars, still reeling from Hamas’ 2023 attack and deeply divided over the character of the state and the right person to lead it.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces off against a coalition of parties seeking to oust the longtime leader from power. Opinion polls have suggested a tight race with his main rival, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot.
In Israel’s fragmented parliamentary politics, no single party has ever won an outright parliamentary majority, so political leaders must forge coalitions.
But in a tight race in which nonaligned Arab parties are pushing for heavy turnout, there is a chance that neither Netanyahu’s religious and ultranationalist coalition nor the group of parties looking to remove him has enough support to win a parliamentary majority. That could set off weeks of negotiations before a leader is declared.
Israel’s Arab-led parties could emerge as kingmakers if they agree to support one candidate over the other.
Hanging over the election are lingering tensions with Iran, and Netanyahu has ramped up threats against the country ahead of the vote. He appeared in a video this week standing beside a missile-defense battery and warned Tehran it would face “a devastating blow” if it attacked Israel.
The election is Israel’s first national vote since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that sparked the war in Gaza and related conflicts across the region. The vote serves not only as a referendum on Netanyahu’s lengthy leadership but also on what kind of country Israel should be...
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...
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More likely, no winner, another Election.
LOL...
More like 3,000 years of war!
They will be alright no matter the outcome. God chose their ancestors and will see today’s people through. Inspite of all the jealous haters.
To hell (or, more correctly, “back to hell”) with your AssPress and their biased, agenda-driven opinion-drivel posing as “news”.
GO BIBI! AM YISRAEL CHAI!
Yope,
Gaza was the main city of Philistines during the Judges, Saul and David time.
Vote Bibi and keep the savages on their heels and their missiles and UAVs out of your skies!
uou’re
What a dick move. Here’s hoping Bibi gets re-elected.
What a dick move. Here’s hoping Bibi gets re-elected.
God bless Israel and Bibi.
God bless Israel and Bibi.
Toward the end of a long article, the author mentions the issue that divides the right of center parties: exemptions from military service for the ultra-orthodox. However, the author doesn’t actually describe the issue.
Bibi is currently committed to these exemptions to gain the support of the two ultra-orthodox parties; but, the commitment will be off supposing, as looks likely, the current ruling coalition falls short of a majority in today’s election.
After the new Israeli parliament (”knesset”) takes office, it is possible for Bibi to arrange a quick vote on the exemptions, phasing them out if not simply eliminating them. Then, Bibi can be re-elected as prime minister with a different right-of-center coalition. That is, with the support of the right-of-center parties that oppose exemptions, although possibly without the support of the ultra-orthodox parties.
For many years, the ultra-orthodox parties held the balance of power between the right-of-center and the left-of-center parties. The ultra-orthodox parties used that balance of power to get their exemptions. (Sorry, democracy is messy.) But, today, the right-of-center is so large, it doesn’t really need the ultra-orthodox.
As to one of the Arab parties possibly joining the ruling coalition: yes, this is a real possibility. Arab Israelis do very well. Better than Arabs who aren’t royals in any of the Arab majority countries. (Arab Americans also do very well.) So, why shouldn’t Arab Israelis be a constructive part of the country?
The two main problems of the Middle East are (1) Iran and (2) the radical Muslims that Iran supports. Not moderate Muslims or Arabs in general.
I second that:
GO BIBI! AM YISRAEL CHAI!
And self loathing folks too........
More like after 30 years of Netanyahu. I am a huge Netanyahu fan. I have been since he was Israel's spokesman in the US in the 1980s. I think that, for a long time, he had the right policies for Israel. But every politician eventually overstays their welcome and ends their career in defeat. He doesn't have the skill and perception that he used to have. He should have let a new leader lead Likud into this round of elections. So it would not surprise me if he loses.
Bibi gone? Well, the dumb Brits sent Churchill packing after WWII ended.
The “ultra orthodox” folks have the right idea—let him and you fight.
Lol.
F’n AP.
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