Netanyahu fights for political future as Israel heads to polls with Iran threat looming
Ahead of Israel's Oct. 27 national vote, U.S. President Donald Trump issued a sweeping endorsement of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's reelection bid, calling him a 'great warrior' and an ally in confronting Iran.
The endorsement could give Israel's longest-serving prime minister a boost ahead of the country's first national vote since the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, massacre. The election is widely viewed in Israel as a referendum on whether to grant Netanyahu another term to pursue his war objectives, including disarming Hamas and Hezbollah and countering the nuclear threat from Iran.
In response, Netanyahu thanked Trump for his 'extraordinary endorsement.' 'Together we will never let Iran's regime get nuclear weapons,' he said.
Israel and the U.S. have stood together as the two countries bearing the torch for the West, and that is a direct result of the incredible relationship between President Trump and Netanyahu.
Election Dynamics
Netanyahu's current political allies include Itamar Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit, Bezalel Smotrich's Religious Zionism-Zehut, and the ultra-Orthodox parties Shas and United Torah Judaism. The newcomer Amcha Yisrael, led by Ofer Winter, could also join the bloc, although Winter is currently feuding with Likud over concerns that his party could split the right-wing vote.
According to most Hebrew-language media polls, neither Netanyahu's bloc nor the opposition led by Gadi Eisenkot currently has a clear path to securing the 61 Knesset seats needed to form a government. If no candidate can assemble a governing coalition, Israel could head to another election, repeating the cycle of political instability that saw the country hold four national votes between April 2019 and March 2021.
Security Challenges
Dan Diker, president of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, told Fox News Digital that any incoming government will face the same formidable security challenges as the current one, with few prospects for quick victories.
The Israeli left, center and even far-right believe Netanyahu has failed to meet the expectations associated with his image as 'Mr. Security,' according to Prof. Tamar Hermann, a senior researcher at the Israel Democracy Institute. 'He promised to topple the Iranian regime, he promised to dismantle Hamas, he promised to crush Hezbollah. None of it was achieved,' Hermann said.
Michael Oren, a former Israeli ambassador to the United States, framed the upcoming election in terms of legacy. 'There are two types of leaders: leaders in history and leaders of history,' he told Fox News Digital. 'Benjamin Netanyahu belongs to this category.' Oren said Netanyahu sees his mission as saving Israel from existential threats, foremost among them Iran.
Historical Context
Israel's longest-serving prime minister, with roughly 20 years in office, Netanyahu began his diplomatic career in 1982 as deputy chief of mission at Israel's embassy in Washington, D.C. He served as Israel's ambassador to the United Nations from 1984 to 1988 before entering politics with Likud.
He is widely credited with liberalizing Israel's economy and helping transform the country into a global high-tech hub. However, his current term has been his least successful, beginning with the judicial reform push which triggered mass protests in 2023, followed by the Palestinian terror attacks on Oct. 7.
Netanyahu subsequently faced public anger over his handling of the hostage crisis, although, in coordination with Trump and his envoys, he ultimately secured the return of all the captives. 'In the eyes of some, his legacy will be that he inflicted a huge disaster upon Israel in terms of what happened to civilians on Oct. 7 and the deterioration of Israel's international image,' Hermann said.
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