Israelis Choose Between Netanyahu and Eisenkot in 120-Seat Knesset Race

Israelis began voting Tuesday in an election that will decide whether Benjamin Netanyahu, in office a total of 19 years, keeps the job or hands it to Gadi Eisenkot, a former military chief of staff. Polling stations opened at 7 a.m. local time and close at 10 p.m. The Israeli Central Election Committee counts 7.3 million eligible voters, about 330,000 of them voting for the first time.

Netanyahu has campaigned on his wartime record and his partnership with U.S. President Donald Trump, who endorsed him and joined Israel in striking Iranian nuclear sites. On Sunday, Netanyahu said Trump was ready to act again to "finally" remove the Iranian threat, but only with Netanyahu in power. Eisenkot said he was confident Trump would work "in full co-operation with any leader chosen by the people," and accused Netanyahu of "relying on a campaign of fear-mongering, lies and threats."

Polls show a tight race between Netanyahu's Likud and its right-wing allies and an alliance led by Eisenkot, who has support on both the right and the centre. Neither side has a clear route to a coalition in the 120-seat parliament. If no government can be formed, Netanyahu would remain caretaker until a new vote next year. Israeli political analyst Amotz Asa-El of the Shalom Hartman Institute expects "only a slight majority either way. No landslide."

For many who oppose Netanyahu, the vote turns on who answers for the security failures of Oct. 7, 2023, Israel's deadliest day, when Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostage according to Israeli government tallies. Gaza health authorities say Israeli strikes since have killed 74,000 people. Mali Hajaj, an Education Ministry employee who backs Eisenkot, said a national inquiry is the priority: "that's where our healing will come from."

Others point to the wars since. Israel struck Hezbollah in Lebanon, traded fire with Iran, ran a 12-day aerial campaign against Iranian nuclear sites in 2025, and joined the United States in a war against Iran this year. Eisenkot says the next government must keep Iran from getting a military nuclear capability, by force or through a U.S.-backed arrangement.

Forming a government may again require Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, whose parties sit in Netanyahu's coalition. Some Western governments have sanctioned both over what they describe as incitement against Palestinians, and Ben-Gvir's Jewish Power party has gained in opinion polls. Eisenkot opposes their role and has criticized settler violence in the West Bank, which has risen since 2023. He, like nearly all Jewish-led parties, rejects a two-state solution.

Netanyahu's allies include Nof Gabay, 18, who said he is "the right man for the state of Israel" and managed the war "in the best possible way." Lisa Tortor said she wants a new government to repair "the damage that Bibi has done for Jews all over the world and for Israel, and Israel's image." Voting among Arab citizens could shift the coalition arithmetic toward Eisenkot, who has ruled out a formal partnership with Arab parties.

The campaign has unfolded as Netanyahu faces corruption charges he denies in a long-running trial. In some Likud strongholds, former supporters have gone door to door urging neighbors to drop him. The vote is the first since Oct. 7, 2023.