Trump Endorses Netanyahu Ahead of Israel Election

U.S. President Donald Trump endorsed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of Tuesday’s election, urging voters to back him and calling their joint campaign against Iran a success to be completed. Netanyahu has emphasized security and accused rival Gadi Eisenkot of weakness on Iran; Eisenkot has pledged to unite the country and establish an inquiry into failures preceding Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack. A Channel 12 poll projected 23 seats for Eisenkot’s Yashar party and 21 for Netanyahu’s Likud, but polls show neither major bloc with a clear path to the 61 seats needed for a majority, with smaller parties near the electoral threshold potentially decisive. Another Channel 12 poll put the anti-Netanyahu bloc at 70 seats, including 14 Arab-party seats that complicate coalition arithmetic. Netanyahu faces criticism over his leadership and a corruption trial, while polls have also shown opposition figures such as Naftali Bennett gaining ground and Netanyahu improving in some head-to-head comparisons; the campaign has focused on security, political accountability, and Israel’s future direction.