74,000 Gaza Deaths Frame Israel's Tuesday Vote on Domestic Power Struggles

Israeli voters head to the polls on Tuesday as more than 74,000 people have been killed in Gaza, yet the leading candidates offer little separation on the war itself. The campaign has focused primarily on domestic governance rather than the ongoing military conflict or a path to Palestinian statehood.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leads the hard-right coalition, which includes the Shas and United Torah Judaism parties. His main opposition is a loose alliance of center and left parties, led by figures such as Gadi Eisenkot and Naftali Bennett. Both blocs support the war launched after the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack, and neither has presented a clear plan for a two-state solution.

The sharpest divide concerns the judicial system. Netanyahu's government passed laws in 2024 and 2025 to change how judges are appointed and to limit the power of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara. Bennett pledged to cancel these measures as soon as the new Knesset convenes. Netanyahu argued that the judiciary must not crush the executive branch, stating that Israel needs "we the people," not "we the judges."

Conscription of the ultra-Orthodox, or Haredi, community is the second major flashpoint. Netanyahu relies on Haredi parties for a majority in the Knesset. Those parties demand a law that overturns a June 25, 2024, Supreme Court ruling to shield yeshiva students from the draft. After approximately 40 Haredim were arrested this month for avoiding service, Netanyahu described the arrests as a "deliberate attempt to harm the process." Eisenkot framed the election as a choice between a "draft-dodging government" and a government of conscription.

Candidates also clashed on the status of the two-state solution. Netanyahu promised there would be no Palestinian state, while Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich urged the next government to cancel the Oslo Accords. Eisenkot called the two-state principle a "mistake," and Yair Golan of the Democrats party said a leap to statehood is impossible while Israeli society remains in trauma.

Accountability for the October 7 attack has dominated the campaign. Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi resigned in January 2025, and Shin Bet head Ronen Bar left in June 2025. No comparable inquiry has examined Netanyahu's own role, despite warnings from the UAE and Egypt before the attack. Netanyahu told the Knesset his government wants an inquiry with "as broad public support as possible," a proposal that has been deferred to the next Knesset session.

Both sides agree on the basic premise of the wars in Gaza and Iran. The difference lies in how the government operates. Netanyahu's bloc seeks to rule free of judicial oversight, while the opposition coalition promises a similar policy agenda but with adherence to the law and less extreme governance.