Israel to hold Oct 27 elections in vote seen as referendum on Netanyahu

JERUSALEM - Israel will hold national elections on Oct 27, the last date allowed by law, its Parliament said on July 12, with the vote widely seen as a referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s leadership since the Gaza war erupted.

The Knesset, as Parliament is known, is set to end its current term on July 17, allowing the ruling coalition to complete a full four-year term for the first time in decades.

“Since the current Knesset is expected to serve its full term and the next general election is already set by law for October 27, with no intention of shortening the legislature’s tenure, there is no need to enact a Knesset Dissolution Law in the usual sense,” Parliament said in a statement.

Netanyahu, 76, is already the country’s longest-serving prime minister across multiple terms, and has declared his intention to run again.

In recent days, his government – one of the most right-wing coalitions in Israel’s history – has been racing to pass a series of Bills in a bid to shore up his alliance and enter the election from a position of strength.

In June, Netanyahu even said that he intended to “establish a broad national government, not a right-wing, not a left-wing government that depends on Arab parties, but a broad national government”.

By reaching across the aisle, Netanyahu appears to be trying to reframe his electoral pitch around national unity rather than ideological alignment.

But recent polls show that a majority of Israelis want him out of office, with former military chief Gadi Eisenkot emerging as his main rival.

Public opinion turned critical of the ceasefire that halted the war Israel and the US launched against Iran in late February, which led to a deal between Tehran and Washington that many view as unfavourable to Israel.

Anger also lingers over the security failures surrounding the Oct 7 attacks, which continues to weigh on Netanyahu’s standing. AFP