Israel election live: polls open in most consequential vote in country’s history

Key Points:

• Gadi Eisenkot, a former Israeli military chief of staff and main opposition candidate, is seen as the antithesis of Benjamin Netanyahu, characterized by his modest background and unpolished style compared to Netanyahu's slick persona.
• Eisenkot’s party, Yashar, emphasizes honesty and rectitude, but he remains evasive on key issues like the two-state solution and Israeli settlements, opposing some settlement expansions but supporting settlement overall.
• He advocates for ending the ultra-Orthodox military draft exemption and calls for investigating intelligence failures related to Hamas’s October 2023 attack, while promising to reverse far-right control of the West Bank and restore military authority there.
• Eisenkot is a military realist who supports robust use of force, having developed the Dahiya doctrine during the 2006 Lebanon war, and prioritizes the safety of hostages held by Hamas, with personal tragedy influencing his stance.
• While polls suggest Netanyahu’s coalition may lose its majority, the opposition bloc led by Eisenkot may also fall short, leaving Israel’s political future uncertain amid ongoing conflict, international condemnation, and internal divisions.