In Israel, voters are heading to the polls today in a hotly contested parliamentary election that many say is a referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s 10-year rule. Netanyahu has been embroiled in multiple corruption scandals, and his hard-line nationalist rhetoric and policies have raised concern among centrist Israelis. Meanwhile, unwavering support from the Trump administration—including recent moves to recognize the Golan Heights as sovereign Israeli territory and to designate Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as a terror group—has bolstered his popularity among conservative Israelis.
Netanyahu’s main opponent, former army chief Benny Gantz, who heads the Blue and White party, has also relied on pro-security and military rhetoric but claims he will be able to unite Israelis.
As voting got underway around the country, a judge filed a complaint after Netanyahu’s Likud party provided election observers at polling stations in Arab neighborhoods with 1,200 body cameras.