Israeli Elections
The dramatic escalation took place a little more than a month before Israelis are scheduled to go to the polls for national elections, and just two months before Tel Aviv is expected to host the international Eurovision song contest.
Darkenu is registered as a nonpolitical entity unaffiliated with a specific party. But according to Likud, it has been de facto running the center-left’s grassroots operation by promoting, albeit indirectly, the Blue and White Knesset list.
“The reason the center-right is the largest bloc in Israel is because people have become very disenchanted with the sort of cultish, irrational positions of the left, whether on strategic or economic or social issues.”
A week after Israel’s Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit announced that he planned to indict Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in three cases, the Likud loses three seats, dropping to 26, compared to a loss of five seats for Blue and White.
The far-right Otzma Yehudit, and far-left Ra’am-Balad and Hadash-Ta’al parties, will be allowed to run in Israel’s upcoming national elections, thanks to Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit.
Likud officials said that eroding support has been a result of the governing party not being aggressive enough in its attack on rival Benny Gantz; hence, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has concluded that Likud has to focus on driving home the message of “Gantz is the left.”
Collectively, they have vast experience in dealing with Israel’s array of security challenges, which raises the question of how their past is shaping their current political outlooks, particularly regarding the Palestinian question and other key issues.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tells Likud that media will do anything for the left to win, is “hiding things” about Blue and White list leader Benny Gantz • Says Gantz attended a memorial for Hamas members killed in “Operation Protective Edge.”
Former GOC Southern Command Maj. Gen. (res.) Tal Russo says if Israel had not evacuated its Gaza settlements, there would have been “major terrorist attacks and a lot more wounded” • Russo: “Noise” over arson incentivizes the enemy • Apologizes if remark taken out of context.
The poll predicted 38 seats for Blue and White, under the leadership of Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid, compared to 29 seats for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party.
The decision will influence, if at all, those who have supported Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu so far, but whose support cracked following Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit’s announcement.
“I call on you, Netanyahu, to show responsibility and to resign from you position,” said Blue and White Party head Benny Gantz.
