WATCH:
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is up for re-election again after holding the position for a decade.
His opponent, Benny Gantz, is running on a centrist platform with the polls showing them neck-and-neck. The results for tomorrow are anyone’s game at this point.
Analysts, however, are saying that it is not a matter of trying to win over votes, but instead getting enough people out to vote.
In an effort to ignite more supporters on the right, he announced that he would annex Jewish settlements in the currently occupied the West Bank, if re-elected, effectively making a more permanent claim over Palestinian territory.
While this may prove effective to attract more voters in Israel, many are wondering how this would play out in the United States with American voters in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. With many in the United States already concerned with Israel’s “occupation” of Palestinian territories, Netanyahu’s campaign promise could prove to be a factor in the upcoming election. (RELATED: Author Of New York Times Anti-Israel Piece Works For Group Funded By Qatar)
President Donald Trump has supported Netanyahu’s policies by moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem last year, and most recently officially recognizing Israeli sovereignty of Golan Heights, territory seized from Syria in 1967.
If Netanyahu were to win and implement his annexation policy, it could put pressure on the Trump administration to take a stance on the issue.
Though Benny Gantz represents the Blue and White party, which opposed Netanyahu’s Likud party, some are wondering if he will just be more of the same. His record as chief of staff of the Israeli Defense Forces in 2015, under Prime Minister Netanyahu means he’s not anti-establishment, but maybe just a change of scenery for Israeli voters.
Tune in to see what is happening with the Israeli elections.