Israelis are hitting the polls for the second time this year. The already unprecedented general election is also the culmination of an existential drama for PM Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
Having already secured Washington’s backing for the Israeli claims to the Golan Heights and Jerusalem, Netanyahu had to up the stakes, vowing on the eve of the vote to annex Hebron as well as the Israeli settlements in the Jordan Valley, if elected.
This may be a step farther than his main challenger, Benjamin ‘Benny’ Gantz of the Kahol Lavan (Blue and White) bloc is ready to take. However, Gantz himself is no dove, having overseen the 2012 and 2014 onslaughts against Gaza as chief of the general staff of the Israel Defense Forces.
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