Israel votes as Gaza death toll tops 74,000 and court fights loom

More than 74,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began, yet that toll has not driven the central arguments of Israel’s Tuesday election. The frontrunners have largely aligned on the conduct of the war and the status of a Palestinian state. Their primary conflict concerns domestic power, specifically the authority of the courts and the draft eligibility of the ultra-Orthodox community.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leads the hard-right coalition that has governed since 2022. He faces a loose opposition group that promises similar broad policies but seeks to rein in executive power. Neither side has challenged the war launched after the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, or the subsequent conflict with Iran. Both camps remain largely silent on a path to a two-state solution, a commitment Israel made in the Oslo Accords of the 1990s.

The divide on Palestinian statehood is stark in its phrasing but similar in its result. Netanyahu has promised there will be no Palestinian state. Gadi Eisenkot, of the Yashar party, called the principle of two states for two peoples a mistake. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich urged the next government to cancel the Oslo Accords and encourage migration from occupied territories. Yair Golan, leader of the Democrats party, argued that a leap to two states is impossible while society remains in trauma, pointing instead to civil separation.

Conscription remains a volatile issue for the coalition. Netanyahu relies on the Shas and United Torah Judaism parties to maintain a majority in the Knesset. These parties demanded legislation to overturn a Supreme Court ruling from June 25, 2024, which shielded ultra-Orthodox youth from the draft. After approximately 40 men were arrested this month for avoiding service, Netanyahu described the moves as a deliberate attempt to harm the drafting process without coercion.

Shas leader Aryeh Deri stated his party would not join any government unless the status of yeshiva students is regulated. Eisenkot framed the vote as a choice between a draft-dodging government and one of conscription. Avigdor Liberman, leader of Yisrael Beiteinu, accused Netanyahu of being a hostage to draft evaders. The prominence of this issue has grown as the economic and human costs of the wars have mounted.

The judiciary stands as the second major flashpoint. Days after taking office in 2022, the government unveiled a plan to curb the courts, triggering mass protests in 2023 that were interrupted by the war. The coalition passed measures changing how judges are appointed. In July, a law stripped Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara of many powers, allowing the government to reject her legal advice. Both measures are set to take effect after the election, and most of the opposition has vowed to reverse them.

Justice Minister Yariv Levin calls the election a historic chance to finish the judicial overhaul. Netanyahu argues that Israel needs the will of the people, not the will of the judges, and says the judiciary must not crush the executive. Naftali Bennett, co-leader of the Together alliance and a former prime minister, pledged to cancel all legal revolution laws as soon as the Knesset convenes. The government has also boycotted Chief Justice Isaac Amit, a move critics say is an assault on democracy by a leader facing a corruption trial.

Accountability for the October 7 attack has dominated the campaign, even as the death toll in Gaza has been absent from the platforms of the two main alliances. Inquiries into security failures led Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi to announce his resignation in January 2025. A dispute with the prime minister ended with Shin Bet head Ronen Bar leaving in June 2025. No comparable inquiry has examined Netanyahu’s own role, despite reports that the UAE and Egypt warned him before the attack.

Eisenkot said Netanyahu was warned and did not act, and promised a State Commission of Inquiry. Netanyahu told the Knesset his government wants an inquiry with broad public support. The proposed government-led inquiry never reached its final reading and has been deferred to the next session of the Knesset.