October 7 accountability dominates Israel's election campaign

Israel’s October 27 election is being fought in large part over who bears responsibility for the security failures that preceded the Hamas-led attack of October 7, 2023, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his opponents offering sharply different accounts of his leadership. The vote is scheduled, but its outcome remains uncertain, and no result has been reported. Opposition leaders have made accountability a central campaign issue. They have pledged to establish an official commission of inquiry into the failures surrounding the attack, which killed about 1,200 people in Israel and led to the taking of 251 hostages, according to figures cited in election coverage. Netanyahu has rejected calls for a commission and has sought to place blame on security officials. His opponents argue that the government must answer for the breakdown; Netanyahu and his defenders say the military establishment failed him and that he has led Israel through the ensuing conflict. Gadi Eisenkot, a former military chief and leader of the Yashar party, is Netanyahu’s principal challenger in the campaign coverage.