Israeli Voters Weigh Netanyahu's Record at Polls

Israelis voted Tuesday in a national election that will decide whether Benjamin Netanyahu keeps power after the Hamas-led attack of Oct. 7, 2023, and the wars that followed. For residents of Bexar County with family or business ties to the region, the outcome rests on which political bloc commands a majority in the 120-seat Knesset.

Israeli voters choose parties, and those parties then negotiate alliances to reach 61 seats. No single party has ever held that number alone. Polls point to a close race with no clear winner on election night, leaving roughly a dozen parties to bargain over a coalition.

In Kiryat Shmona, a Netanyahu stronghold near the Lebanese border, a man kicked down a campaign poster for former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, Netanyahu's main rival. In Tel Aviv, families of people killed in the 2023 attack stood in silence. "Remember all those whose voices are no more," said Yona Adam, mother of Mapal Adam, who was killed.

Eisenkot met voters in Ofakim as polls opened. Hamas-led militants attacked the southern community on Oct. 7, 2023. He lost his son and two nephews fighting in Gaza. His campaign has pointed to Netanyahu's refusal to hold a state commission of inquiry into the security failures of that day.

Thousands of volunteer observers took posts at polling stations nationwide. Eyal Sher signed up with the civil society group Elections Guards. "We have a corrupt government that will do anything to stay in power," he said. "Every vote counts and we want to make sure the procedures are kept intact."

Netanyahu, 77, has been Israel's leading political figure for close to two decades. A weak result would close his career on a sour note. President Donald Trump endorsed Netanyahu's reelection earlier this month, a late backing that arrived after Netanyahu had campaigned on his ties to the Republican president.

Opinion surveys show his bloc running even with the one led by Eisenkot, which argues Netanyahu must answer for Oct. 7 and for turning battlefield gains into no diplomatic results. Netanyahu has built coalitions with religious and nationalist partners throughout his tenure.

The campaign has centered on the security breakdown of Oct. 7, his push to exempt ultra-Orthodox Jews from military service, and a 2023 judicial overhaul critics call an attack on Israel's democratic institutions. Debate over the war in Gaza has been limited, even though it produced an international arrest warrant against Netanyahu. Israeli control of southern Lebanon, parts of Syria, and two wars launched against Iran draw broad support among voters there.