Israel heads to the polls as shift to the right dominates critical election

Israel is heading to the polls on Tuesday in a closely contested election that is being described as one of the most important in its history. The vote is the first since the Hamas-led attack of October 7, 2023 and the subsequent genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza, as well as a wider conflict that has seen Israel carry out attacks on Iran, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria and Qatar. Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, is seeking to extend his tenure after leading the country’s most right-wing governing coalition which brought together far-right ultranationalists and ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties.