Israeli electoral politics is composed of a variety of parties representing many different interest groups. Large and small political organizations, which may be categorized into religious, ethnic origin and ideological groups, have struggled to exist in the Knesset. The struggle continues among political parties entering the Knesset who are forced to negotiate terms and policies in order to form viable coalitions. However, this sometimes turns into a political deadlock when parties insist on incompatible requirements, as was the case after the April elections. This is the weakest aspect of Israeli politics. It does not seem possible for the government to sustain consistent policies within a divided society and a divided political environment. As a result, Israeli people are going to the electoral polls again on the 17th of September because of unresolved coalition bargaining after the April elections.

Netanyahu, who was accused of corruption and abuse of office before the first elections this year, was able to gain a close share of votes against the Gantz-Lapid alliance. But he was confronted by the secular right and the reaction of former coalition partner Lieberman because of his soft attitude towards the exemption of religious Jews from compulsory military service in the country. Netenyahu’s two indispensable priorities at the end of the elections were to form a coalition and to enact an immunity law. But the concessions he made to religious Jewish parties led the country to a re-election.

As before every general election, national security discussions were at the center of campaign advertisements and discussions before both the April and September elections. As a classic Netanyahu election tactic, announcements regarding the approval of illegal settlements in the West Bank and the escalation of the conflicts in Gaza became routine. Furthermore, Iraq and Lebanon were also affected by the Israeli attacks, while attacks on Syria continued. In other words, when the situation gets hard for Netanyahu and Likud, particularly before elections, party announcements and policies tend to be even more hardline and aggressive. 

Turkey as an old but fashionable target

A tweet shared by former transport minister Yisrael Katz, who was appointed Israel’s foreign minister just two months ago, has been on the agenda for some time while campaign tensions peak just one month before the elections. This tweet, which was shared on August 26 via Arabic and Hebrew translations, clearly targeted Turkey and its international legal rights. The tweet reads “I instructed the foreign ministry to halt Turkey’s incitement and subversion in East Jerusalem.”

First of all, these statements provoked negative reactions from many Israeli twitter users and also brought reactions from the Turkish public. Many Israeli and Turkish experts believe that this statement was made to strengthen Likud’s ground within the right bloc. But actually, the situation is a bit more complicated. In the last few years, the government of Israel has become displeased with Turkey’s cultural influence both on the Arab and Jewish population of Israel. Even Turkish television serials are admired and watched by many Israelis; so much so it was recently dealt with as an issue of cultural hegemony by media organizations close to Likud.

Turkey’s activities in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem can be defined as humanitarian aid, historical restoration, education, and cultural activities. There have been many news reports and articles confirming these activities published by Israeli sources in recent years. The most important fact in relation to this issue is that Turkey’s activities are well known by the Israeli authorities. However, there are two main reasons why creating a bad perception of Turkey has been a focus of debates before the Israeli elections. The first one is the efforts of Likud cadres to prioritize security policies for reelection. The second one is the need to increase the personal political maneuverability of Yisrael Katz, who has received criticism from circles close to the United States and even by US foreign policy staff.

Diversionary election tactics by Likud

Netanyahu’s failure to form a coalition government, the renewal of elections, and the attempt to cancel the new elections once the negative results of electoral surveys became known, is proof that Likud will pursue every possibility available to them without hesitation before the elections on the 17th of September.

Furthermore, attacks on Gaza and Syria are being used as part of Likud’s election propaganda, as well as announcements increasing permits for illegal settlements in the West Bank. As the elections approach, Lebanon and Iraq have also been targeted. Furthermore, investigations into Netanyahu for corruption and bribery, which will likely result in prosecution, remains on the agenda. The trial of the Minister of Social Welfare Haim Katz for fraud and abuse of office and investigations into critical tenders during Yisrael Katz’s helm of the ministry of transport are other issues that make Likud’s election difficult. Katz has been criticized for giving Haifa’s commercial port and many rail systems to Chinese companies. This is despite the objections of the U.S whose 6th fleet is anchored in the military base section of Haifa Port. This is the most important external dynamic that has pushed Netanyahu in these elections. As Netanyahu and his party are moving towards the election with this challenges, Katz’s tweet needs to be considered in this context.

When we look at Katz’s profile, we see that beyond his long-lasting political comradeship with Netanyahu, he is a publicly criticized figure with aggressive attitudes towards Palestinians going back to his military and college life. Although he is a Likud member that Netanyahu cannot easily dismiss, he has attracted suspicion as the former transportation and intelligence minister because of the million dollars tenders he awarded to China. Furthermore, Katz is not hesitating to screen views hostile to Turkey for personal political interests. But it is a matter of curiosity how seriously this approach will continue as Israel receives two billion dollars in annual imports from Turkey and the Ben-Gurion Airport is connected to many parts of the world via Istanbul Airport both in terms of passengers and logistics.

Israeli legislative elections held on April 9 ended with a new political alliance called ‘Blue and White’ becoming the most important alternative to the Likud government. Blue and White won 35 seats, the same number as the governing Likud party under the leadership of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. While it is not possible to claim that any party ended up being victorious by number. Netanyahu was expected to reclaim the position of prime minister by forming a majority government with a right-wing coalition.

The total number of seats won by six right wing and conservative parties surpassed the electoral threshold of 3.25% being 65 seats. This was enough to form an absolute majority in the 120-seat Knesset. It was expected that a government would be formed and approved with ease. But an event that has never occurred before in the political history of Israel took place. The meetings and negotiations Netanyahu held with right wing parties during the 45-day span within which he was tasked to form a government failed to yield results, and a government failed to be formed.

Following this, Netanyahu called for a repeat election. This was accepted by parties in the Knesset and the decision was made to repeat the elections in September 2019, after which the Knesset dissolved itself. Thus, Israel found itself in a position for the first time where it had to hold elections twice in a year.

In recent years, elections in Israel have consistently failed to be held at their appointed time due to failure in reaching a political consensus. Coalitions formed by political parties of similar views can fall apart due to personal interests and due to differences in principles. The recent failure of Netanyahu to form a coalition government stemmed from both of these reasons. It is useful to examine the conditions that led to the early legislative elections held on April 9 and the reasons why subsequent negotiations to form a government failed.

Ceasefire agreement with Hamas in Gaza

Avigdor Lieberman, leader of the Yisrael Beiteinu (meaning Israel Our Home) party, was the minister of defense in the previous Netanyahu government. He resigned in November 2018 over the cabinet’s decision to accept a ceasefire agreement with Hamas in Gaza.

Following this resignation, tensions arose over the empty position of the minister of defense between Netanyahu and Naftali Bennett, leader of the HaBayit HaYehudi (Jewish Home) party another partner of the coalition government. This showed that there was no harmony or trust between the parties of the coalition. Bennett’s statements to the effect of “I’m silent for now, but my eyes on you” demonstrated this distrust towards Netanyahu.

Conflicts over military service exemptions for ultra-orthodox Jewish men

Lieberman was also opposed to a law that granted military service exemption to Haredi Jews. Lieberman saw this issue primarily as one of equality. He said that he did not understand and could not explain to his voters why Haredi Jews should be exempt while all other Israeli citizens have to carry out mandatory military service. Netanyahu promised leaders of Haredi political parties Shas and United Torah Judaism (UTJ) who opposed any move to subject Haredi Jews to conscription requirements that he would resolve this issue as soon as possible.

Corruption investigations against Netanyahu

Another problem between Lieberman and Netanyahu was the corruption investigations against Netanyahu. Lieberman opposed the draft presented by Likud members of the Knesset that suggested granting the prime minister and cabinet members in office immunity from prosecution on grounds that he found it to be unethical. Even before the prosecutor’s office had announced that a case would be opened against Netanyahu, Lieberman made statements that in such a case the prime minister should resign to ensure a fair trial process. But the existence of some potential investigations against himself prevented Lieberman from adopting a more aggressive tone.

Failure to meet the expectations of conservative parties

Conservative parties Shas and UTJ frequently threatened Netanyahu with withdrawing from the coalition to gain leverage on issues such as: banning work on Shabbat, introducing restrictions to worship in the Wailing Wall (Buraq Wall) and exempting Haredi Jews from military service. This has shown that the coalition between these parties with Netanyahu is not one of ideological unity but one of benefit.

Election polls conducted around earlier predicted that while Likud under Netanyahu’s leadership, would not reach an absolute majority, it would win around 30 to 35 seats in the Knesset and would easily form a government with support from conservative parties and other right wing parties. Thus, trust in Netanyahu, who was being criticized and called to resign by members of the opposition due to the corruption investigations against him would be restored. There were also reports that in the case that his party received a high percentage of votes, he would use this to exert pressure on judicial authorities by claiming that Israelis do not believe in the accusations against him and continue to support him, and that the judiciary should stop interfering with politicians. While these reports initially did not seem convincing, the revelation that certain members of the Knesset from Likud were preparing a draft that would grant immunity to Netanyahu from the ongoing corruption investigations showed that this was not a distant possibility.

Reasons for the failure to form government

According to the results of the early elections results, Netanyahu was seen as the candidate most likely to form a new government. Right wing parties had gained 65 seats in total and the opposition, excluding the 10 seats gained by Arab parties, could only reach 45 seats in the Knesset in total. While the 35 seats won by the Blue and White alliance seems like a great success, compared to the prior elections their votes have greatly eroded and even with the support of the Labor party, which had 6 seats, and Meretz, another left wing party, their total numbers were not sufficient to remove Netanyahu from the position of prime minister. Moreover, prior to the elections, almost all parties had announced that they would not cooperate in any way with Arab parties. Thus, an obvious difference of 65 to 45 was observed in the Knesset.

Although the present situation is still in favor of Netanyahu and the opposing wing is mathematically unable to form a government, a factor that was not included in the calculations until was Lieberman who was a part of the right-wing bloc with only five members of Knesset. Lieberman actually had previously communicated to President Rivlin the conditions under which he would support Netanyahu for prime minister, but these conditions had not received much interest initially due to the turbulent nature of the process.

Lieberman’s impossible conditions

Lieberman, thinking that Netanyahu would be unable to form a government without the support of his party, did not compromise in his demands to get as many concessions as possible. Along with the demand to resume the position of the minister of defense, he also demanded that another member of his party be appointed to a position of a minister or a deputy minister. He also stipulated the review of the draft that was presented to the Knesset in December about granting Haredi Jews exemption from military service, and demanded limitations based on certain conditions and in certain numbers to be introduced to this law rather than allowing a blanket exemption.

Seeing that the question of military service was a source of great pressure on Netanyahu. The best option would be to not include Shas and UTJ in the coalition. In his meeting with Netanyahu, he suggested that the formation of a government of national unity together with the Blue and White alliance would be more appropriate, and stated that he would support such a government. This suggestion does not seem as unlikely when remembering that in previous periods Likud participated in coalition governments that also included left wing parties. However, this was rejected by Netanyahu as the exemption of Haredi Jews from military service was one of the biggest reasons keeping Shas and UTJ in his coalition. He was also aware that if he could not implement a regulation exempting Haredi Jews from military service then these two parties would no longer be part of the coalition. Without the 16 votes from them the government would fail to receive a vote of confidence in any case.

Moreover, by stating that he is opposed to any regulations that would grant Netanyahu immunity, Lieberman blocked Netanyahu from demanding concessions from him. Lieberman, wishing for the judicial process to proceed on its own course, has openly expressed that he is opposed to any legislative actions that would constitute interference with the judiciary. Alongside this, Netanyahu knew that Lieberman was a potential candidate for Likud leadership in the case of a potential dismissal and conviction concerning him, thus Lieberman’s demands would mean political suicide for Netanyahu and it was not possible for him to accept them.

If he were to accede to Lieberman’s wish for cabinet positions in the government, Netanyahu would also not be able to hold his promise of giving a ministerial position to the United Right alliance composed of the parties Jewish Home and Jewish Power (Otzma Yehudit). Parties which he managed to unite and get into the Knesset at the last moment.

In such a case, it would not be possible to expect Netanyahu leave his fate in the hands of Lieberman. As he had already secured promises of support from other right wing parties in the event that the removal of his immunity became a possibility, Netanyahu felt that he would not have sufficient guarantee on this subject if a national unity government was formed. So, for him, accepting Lieberman’s offers in this context was not acceptable.

Therefore, Netanyahu threatened Lieberman that in the case that a government failed to be formed under his leadership, there would have to be reelections, and that it would not be possible for Lieberman to retain his five seats in the Knesset. However, Lieberman called him bluff and accepted the threat of reelections. As a result of Netanyahu’s miscalculation, and although no parties really wanted new elections, a second election race will have to take place in September.

New developments in the process

A new and intense period has now begun in Israeli politics. New parties are taking to the stage and parties that failed in the April elections are trying to join other alliances to gain seats in the Knesset for the next election. Some parties are engaging in self-criticism and undergoing changes in leadership after holding party leaders accountable for their electoral failures.

Despite this, it can be seen that in Likud, Blue and White, Israel Our Home, Shas and UTJ there are no significant changes in positions. According to polls conducted at the end of July, these parties are expected to face election results similar to their results in April. But Ehud Barak’s return to politics starting a new movement in the left with his new Democratic Union party, alongside leadership changes in the Labor Party and Meretz indicate important shifts. Due to this, it is predicted that the 35 seats gained by both Likud and Blue and White in the April elections will no longer be possible.

Similarly, the New Right party of Bennett and Shaked, which failed to surpass the electoral threshold in April, has changed strategy to avoid being left out of the Knesset by rejoining the United Right parties’ alliance. The United Arab List, which split in two prior to the April elections, also decided to reunify for the September elections due to loss of votes it has experienced.

The only party that is expected to perform better in September than it did in April is Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu. Lieberman raised his popularity especially among left and center voters by being the person who blocked Netanyahu from forming a government, and with this wind behind him his party is expected to win between eight to ten seats in the Knesset in September. Such a result would obviously place Lieberman at the center of the future negotiations for the formation of the next coalition government.

According to the results of the last polls, the parties that have announced that they will support Netanyahu, excluding Yisrael Beiteinu, are expected to gain 54 seats in the Knesset in total. Against this, the bloc opposing Netanyahu composed of Blue and White and left wing parties is expected to reach 58 seats in total when seats expected to be gained by Arab parties are also included.

In this case, the question of who Lieberman will support becomes highly critical. If Lieberman protects his current seats, it will again be mathematically unlikely for Netanyahu to form a government following the September elections. For the first time in a long-time discussion of scenarios in which a government is formed without Netanyahu are being voiced. If predictions are true, Netanyahu who has now surpassed David Ben Gurion’s record, becoming Israel’s longest serving prime minister, may find himself facing an uncertain future outside of office.

After announcing the final results of the elections in Israel, it is highly expected that the new government will be even more radical in terms of its foreign policy and its relations to the Arab citizens in Israel – of which a majority boycotted the elections. The boycott was retaliation to the campaign against Arab politicians and the Netanyahu alliance with anti-Arab extremists, who have been calling for a new law to accept Israel as the homeland of Jewish people alone.

The results indicate that Israeli society is slowly moving towards the right and that religious parties are gaining more votes compared to leftist and traditional parties, which have historically been more open to a peace process with Palestinians – such as the Labour Party, which has decreased its sphere of influence in the political realm after gaining only 6 seats.

In this election, where the competition took place between two right-wing parties, the religious and ultra-orthodox parties will have the final say in forming Netanyahu’s new government, with chances of supporting any expected decisions for ‘annexing’ lands from the West Bank and for upgrading more racist slogans and treatments against Arabs.

Sources inside the White House have said that the expected “Deal of the Century” will include a state of limited sovereignty on 90% of the West Bank and East Jerusalem. 

There are also speculations that the so-called “Deal of the Century” will start its process immediately after forming the new Israeli government, as U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton said on Wednesday that the U.S. administration will roll out its long-awaited peace plan in the “very near future.” The Trump administration gave precious gifts to Netanyahu, who thanked Trump’s “tremendous support” for Israel, including the Golan recognition, and his stance against the Iranian regime, including his decision to place the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps on America’s terrorist blacklist.

Sources inside the White House have said that the expected deal with the Palestinians will include a state of limited sovereignty on 90% of the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Some land occupied by Israel in 1948 can also be added to it. Further, Israeli forces will be deployed in critical zones in the West Bank. Daniella Weiss, a leader in the far-right (partners to Netanyahu), said that a plan of an additional 1.5 million Jewish citizens will be proposed to the government. The deal will also reject the right of return for Palestinian refugees and will compensate Jordan for giving them land, housing and granting them nationality, with a sum of USD40 billion.

This unlimited support from Trump’s administration to Netanyahu is combined by the reality of a divided Arab front, as Arab leaders are secretly scrambling to gain stronger relations with Israel and Trump to form a front against Iran. This paves the way for the Israeli far-right to draw the new map of Israel, on the expense of Palestinians and Muslim rights in Palestine and control over holy sites. 

An unexpected move by the new far-right Israeli government regarding the status of Al-Quds or the annexation of new Palestinian lands should be faced with a solid and viable opposition from the whole Muslim world, with a possible lead from Turkey and Iran.

The election result in Israel should alert decision makers in the Muslim world, anticipating the next Israeli move towards the Muslim holy places in Palestine, as the so-called Deal of the Century is not far from the process of making alliances in the Middle East. This is especially relevant in regards to re-drawing maps of influence and allowing Israel to gain the upper hand in coalition-making as Gulf countries are ready to make concessions for Israel and the Trump administration in return for containing Iran’s influence in the region. More, Egypt is ready for an increasing Israeli role in exchange for an extended coalition in relation to gas projects in the Eastern Mediterranean.

This soft regional pressure on Israel and the more advantageous position it gained during the last decade empowered the far-right wing in the last election, as giving concessions to the Palestinian and Israeli Arabs within the Green Line has increasingly become an unrealistic option. However, the unexpected move from the new far-right Israeli government regarding the status of Al-Quds or the annexation of new Palestinian lands should be faced with a solid and viable opposition from the whole Muslim world, with a possible lead from Turkey and Iran.

The elections to take place in Israel were originally scheduled for November 2019. However, Trump’s decision to withdraw from Syria shifted the sensitive domestic political balance coalition between partners and therefore snap elections became inevitable. When Netanyahu noticed that he will not be able to obtain support for the Tall Bill proposal (military service exemption for Haredi students) from the Knesset, he had to declare the decision for snap elections to be held on 9 April.

This is not an unusual incident for Israeli politics. As can be remembered, the last elections were not held on the date they were scheduled either. But this time, something is different. New parties have been formed, some alliances have split, and new alliances are being formed. The opposition is working hard to confront Netanyahu’s Likud and overthrow him from the prime ministerial position. Netanyahu and his colleagues are obviously working to maintain their tenure.

Although the previous elections in Israel were not held on time, this time things are different. New parties have been formed, alliances have split and new alliances are being formed. The opposition is working hard to confront Netanyahu’s Likud and overthrow him from the prime ministerial position. 

While there are many issues on the political agenda, the Israeli opposition are especially mobilizing on Netanyahu’s corruption scandals and the rumors surrounding possible prosecution. This issue is Netanyahu’s weakest point and therefore this pressure is making him act irrationally and disproportionately. 

Does Netanyahu have a chance?

Although most of the polls still show Netanyahu to have at least 30 seats in the next Knesset, it is possible to say that he is not comfortable because his rivals are strengthening in power day-by-day. When the seats of other coalition parties are added, Netanyahu can reach a sufficient number to form the next government, with the contribution of Kulanu, Shas, and UTC. This means around 58-61 chairs, which is enough to gain a majority if everything goes right. But especially after Avigdor Liberman, chair of Yisrael Beitenu, resigned from the Ministry of Defense and left the coalition, the political environment has begun to reverse against Netanyahu. In fact, at this time everybody thought that the Israeli PM had overcome distressed times. However, Lieberman’s resignation ignited other initiatives coming from Bennett&Shaked.

Although Bennet slammed Netanyahu for the Gaza deal that he made with Hamas in 2018, and claimed that they were going to follow closely as to whether Netanyahu is really acting in the interest of Israel, the PM was able to overthrow these charges and continue with his politics with no harm. However, on December 19, the U.S. decision to withdraw from Syria broke the last resistance and Netanyahu had to announce a snap election. Due to the fact that both coalition and opposition parties noticed Netanyahu’s policy depended on Trump, they don’t have to endure Netanyahu anymore.

While Netanyahu is still the favorite candidate for the election, his last attempt to form an alliance with Bennet’s old party, Jewish Home, which merged with Kahanist Jewish Power (Otzama Yehudit) may cause a loss of centrist votes as some former members of Jewish Power have been prosecuted and arrested in the past. More, Kach Party, which was formed before Jewish Power, was declared as an illegal terrorist organization by Israel due to its involvement in the murder of 29 Palestinians in the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron in 1994.

If these swing votes do swing to the opposition, this would be vitally crucial for Netanyahu and may even cause him to lose the election. And when the AG Mendelbilt indict him before the election, everything may change fundamentally. It may even be possible not to see Netanyahu again in Israeli politics. Just like Olmert…

Who’s in the opposition bloc?

Before the appearance of Gantz, there was just the Zionist Union and Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid as main opposition parties. Of course, we can add Joint List and Meretz to this list too, but they don’t have a game-changing effect. It is possible to state that an election would have been too easy for Netanyahu if the Gantz factor was absent.

Unavoidably, there is a crucial question that keeps emerging: Who is Gantz and where is he obtaining this power from? When the new party was established by former Chief of Staff, Benny Gantz, nobody knew anything about him. Now, Gantz’s party is the strongest party that can challenge Netanyahu’s Likud in the race to form the next government.

Who is Israel’s new popular politician Gantz and where is he obtaining his power from? 

First, some rumors spread that Gantz’s ideology belong to the leftist political spectrum. However, we know him as Chief of Staff during the Gaza attack in 2014. Gantz was very close to Netanyahu as the highest ranking officer and has been said to have approved this conflict. While there might be some differences in their approaches about the killings, they cooperated to kill approximately 2000 Palestinians.

After Gantz retired from the army in 2015, he did not reveal his political stance. However, when the snap election decision emerged, mainstream media and elites expressed their support and hope in him. After he gathered guarantees, he clarified his political position as one in the center. Hereby, the new Resilience Party was formed. This name depicts Gantz’s optimal approach to Israel’s security and capacity. Because the original name of the party is “Hosen Leyisrael” in Hebrew, it has a dual meaning in English. The first meaning is resistance, and the second, resilience. After Gantz completed this first stage, he began to try to explain how his party differs from Netanyahu’s Likud. Now, current polls show that Resilience’s votes are close to Likud’s. It can be observed that he is about to successfully reach his first goal.

The other significant development occurred in the deadline of party registrations with the Central Elections Committee. Gantz and Lapid declared that they decided to merge a deal with the participation of two former chiefs of staff, Moshe Yaalon and Gabi Ashkenazi. The new formation was named Blue and White, referring to the colors of the Israeli flag. After merging together, some polls showed that this initiative was ahead of Likud. Their claims about Palestine is giving hope to many Israelis. However, recent events will allow for Netanyahu to shape the ultimate result. Voters will decide on whether to continue with Netanyahu and his corruption cases.

The other opposition party is the New Right, led by Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked. They were the former leads of the current coalition partner, Jewish Home, but they left the party after the early election decision. The New Right is locating itself between the conservatives and centrists. In fact, they are open to all sides and may cooperate according to who will win. In spite of leaving the coalition, they have stated that they would not refuse to join the new government if Netanyahu invites them.

In addition, there were two major alliances in Israeli politics, but unfortunately both of them collapsed during the election process. One of them is the leftist Zionist Union (Labour and Hatnua) and the other is the Joint Arab List (Balad, Hadash, Ta’al and Ra’am).

After Isaac Herzog was selected as the head of the Jewish agency he had to leave from the party due to some disputes that occurred between its new leader Avi Gabbay and his partner Tzipi Livni. The Zionist Union has been losing too much power since 2015, and Gabbay was never accepted as a leader like Herzog was. Although Livni demanded to be the head of the alliance, her request was also not met. During this period some journalists also mentioned the possibility of a new future coalition between Livni and Lapid, but that Livni did not receive an official offer, and therefore retired from politics. Hereby, former minister of foreign affairs Livni, while desiring to take part in the government again, lost her own party and had to end her political career.

Is change possible in Israel after the elections?

The latest polls show that the election race will pass between two main political blocs – on the one side, current prime minister, whose tenure has not been interrupted for the last 10 years, his Likud and longtime comrades (Kulanu, Jewish Home, Shash, UTC), and on the other, Blue and White Party lead by Gantz and Lapid. It can be stated that it seems like Netanyahu’s bloc is one step ahead. However, when AG declared to indict Netanyahu due to his three corruption cases, this advantage disappeared. Now, Blue and White may take advantage of this situation and mobilize it as a chance to overthrow Netanyahu.

Whoever will become the next prime minister, the basic fundamentals of Israel’s domestic and foreign policy are not going to change fundamentally. Some negligible issues may differ if Gantz & Lapid win. If the next government decide to construct a deal with the Palestinian side, then this is when we can expect some change. While Gantz’s last statements gives us some hope in this regard, we cannot be assured without seeing these promises being fulfilled.