Israel election: Candidates split on conscription, judicial reform, and October 7 inquiry

Israel's election, billed as its most consequential, centers on internal divisions rather than consensus on the Gaza war or Palestinian statehood, with leading candidates unified on military action but split on domestic policy. The vote on Tuesday pits Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-right government against a coalition promising similar policies within legal bounds. Key campaign issues include the two-state solution, with Netanyahu vowing no Palestinian state and rivals like Gadi Eisenkot calling it a mistake, while Yair Golan cites trauma from October 7 as a barrier. On Haredi conscription, Netanyahu supports protecting seminary students, while opponents like Eisenkot and Avigdor Liberman frame the election as a choice between draft-dodging and conscription. Judicial overhaul divides candidates, with Netanyahu defending reforms as democratic and Naftali Bennett pledging to cancel them. An October 7 inquiry dominates, focusing on security failures, but no probe into Netanyahu's alleged warnings from Egypt and UAE has occurred, amid criticism of his Hamas policy.