Israeli election candidates expose stark split over Palestinian rights, draft policy and judicial overhaul
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Leading candidates in Israel's election focused heavily on internal power struggles — judicial overhaul, Haredi conscription and the two-state question — while sidestepping the devastation in Gaza and the broader human cost of the conflict.
Israel's parliamentary election exposed a sharp divide over domestic power structures rather than a serious reckoning with the ongoing conflict with Gaza. Candidates from the incumbent government and opposition coalitions laid out competing visions on judicial reform, military conscription of the ultra-Orthodox community and the future of a two-state solution, underscoring how deeply polarized the political system remains.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doubled down on his rejection of Palestinian statehood, declaring, "We are going to fulfill our promise that there will be no Palestinian state; this place belongs to us." In contrast, Yair Golan of the Democratic party called for a different approach, noting that "Israeli society is still in trauma from October 7" and that a two-state solution is currently unattainable.
On the issue of Haredi draft exemptions, Netanyahu defended the existing arrangement, stating, "We must preserve the world of Torah because it preserved us. These arrests are a deliberate attempt to harm the process of drafting Haredim without coercion." Opponent Gadi Eisenkot portrayed the race as a choice between "Netanyahu’s draft-dodging government, or a government of conscription led by me," highlighting the enduring inequality burdening military service in Israel.
Judicial reforms also remained a focal point. Netanyahu argued that "Democracy is the rule of the people... we have to make sure it doesn’t crush the legislative branch, the Knesset or the executive branch of government." Former prime minister Naftali Bennett, co-leader of the opposition alliance, pledged to cancel all legal-revolution laws immediately after the new Knesset convenes, reflecting the fierce backlash to attempts to weaken judicial checks.
While the campaign largely omitted direct references to the Gaza war, the candidates' positions on these domestic issues are expected to shape Israel's political direction in the coming term.