Israel is holding pivotal elections on Tuesday in what many Israelis call the most consequential vote in their country's history after the last few years of war.
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Israelis → hold → war
Polls show Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu trailing in the race behind his main challenger, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot.
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Netanyahu → show → challenger
But it may take weeks or months before it's clear who will be designated the winner.
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who → take → weeks
That's because voters will not directly choose between Netanyahu and Eisenkot.
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voters → choose → Netanyahu
Instead, they will vote for one of a dozen main parties running for office in the 120-seat parliament, known as the Knesset.
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they → vote → Knesset
The real contest will begin after election day, when party leaders try to assemble a governing coalition of at least 61 lawmakers.
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leaders → begin → lawmakers
Here is a guide to the leading candidates, the issues shaping the vote and what could happen next.
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what → lead → vote
Who are the leading candidates?
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candidates → lead → ?
Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, is seeking another term in office.
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Netanyahu → serve → office
Netanyahu has led the most right-wing government in Israel's history.
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Netanyahu → lead → history
His coalition has included Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, leaders of far-right, religious nationalist parties that are also running in this election, as well as two ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties.
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that → include → election
Netanyahu has led Israel through more than three years of war and regional conflict, from the Hamas-led attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, and the war in Gaza to fighting involving Lebanon, Iran, Syria and Yemen.
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Netanyahu → lead → Lebanon
He is campaigning on Israel's military achievements and his close relationship with President Trump, who recently endorsed him.
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who → campaign → him
Netanyahu has also made confronting Iran, and ultimately seeking the fall of its regime, a central part of his campaign.
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confronting → make → campaign
His principal challenger is Gadi Eisenkot, a former chief of staff of the Israeli military who is running for prime minister for the first time as the leader of a new center-right party called Yashar, Hebrew for "Straight" or "Upright."
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who → run → Straight
Eisenkot's son, Gal, an Israeli soldier, was killed in Gaza during the war.
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son → kill → war
Recent polls have shown Eisenkot has the strongest chance of replacing Netanyahu, although no party or political bloc appears assured of winning a parliamentary majority.
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party → show → majority
Eisenkot's Yashar includes figures from Israel's political center and moderate right.
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Yashar → include → center
The opposition parties he would partner with range from the right and center to the liberal left.
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he → partner → left
He has pledged not to join a government led by Netanyahu.
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He → pledge → Netanyahu
How could Arab parties play a role in the results?
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parties → play → results
Two predominantly Arab parties are also running, including the United Arab List, also known as Ra'am, which made history in 2021 as the first Arab Islamist party to join an Israeli governing coalition.
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which → run → coalition
The party says it is willing to work with predominantly Jewish parties in exchange for policies fighting crime and promoting housing, infrastructure and other problems facing Israel's Arab minority community, which makes up about 20 percent of the country's population.
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which → say → population
But nearly all the main predominantly Jewish political parties, including Eisenkot's, remain reluctant to rely on Arab parties to form a coalition.
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parties → include → coalition
That reluctance could leave the anti-Netanyahu camp without the 61 seats it needs for a governing majority.
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it → leave → majority
The Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage, looms over the election.
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251 → lead → election
Netanyahu has resisted calls to establish a state commission of inquiry into the political and security failures that preceded the attack.
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that → resist → attack
Eisenkot and other opposition leaders say they would establish such a commission soon after taking office.
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they → say → office
Who should serve in the military:
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Who → serve → military
Nearly three years of fighting across several fronts have placed a heavy burden on Israel's standing army and military reservists.
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years → place → army
The military says it needs additional personnel, intensifying a decades-old dispute over exemptions for ultra-Orthodox Jewish men.
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it → say → men
Netanyahu, reliant on ultra-Orthodox parties for political support, has resisted enlisting them, while Eisenkot is campaigning to expand military service to more ultra-Orthodox Jews.
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Eisenkot → resist → Jews
Before the Oct. 7 attack, Netanyahu's government pursued a judicial overhaul that would have weakened the supreme court and given the governing coalition greater influence over the appointment of judges.
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that → pursue → judges
The plan triggered some of the largest protests in Israel's history.
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plan → trigger → history
Netanyahu's far-right partners are campaigning on renewed efforts to limit the power of the courts, while Eisenkot advocates for an independent and powerful judiciary.
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Eisenkot → campaign → judiciary
Netanyahu remains on trial for corruption, and says the charges are politically motivated.
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charges → remain → corruption
The wars in Gaza and the region, and Israel's policies in the occupied West Bank, have badly strained its relations with many governments overseas, and public support for Israel in the U.S. has plummeted, worrying many Israeli voters.
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support → strain → voters
Netanyahu emphasizes his relationship with Trump and argues that military strength has improved Israel's strategic position.
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strength → emphasize → position
Eisenkot and his allies say continued international isolation threatens Israel's economy, diplomatic relationships and security.
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isolation → say → economy
What could happen after the election?
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What → happen → election
…and 20 more, not listed.
The Aporia
