October 7 haunts Netanyahu's election campaign, but his bloc holds its ground

An analysis of how the October 7 commemorations, held just 20 days before the October 27 election, have affected the campaign. Poll averages show Netanyahu's bloc at 55.5 seats versus the opposition's 50, though excluding outliers reveals a virtual tie. The opposition has lost six seats since May while Netanyahu's bloc gained less than one. Both sides use October 7 differently: the opposition focuses on failures and the lack of a state inquiry; Netanyahu emphasizes post-attack military achievements. The flydubai incident gives Bennett and Eisenkot an opening to argue that systemic vulnerabilities remain.

An analysis of how the October 7 commemorations, held just 20 days before the October 27 election, have affected the campaign. Poll averages from October 1-7 put Netanyahu's bloc at 55.5 seats versus the opposition's 50, though excluding Channel 14 and i24 outliers reveals a virtual tie at 52.17 vs 51.83. The opposition has lost six seats since May while Netanyahu's bloc gained less than one. Both sides use October 7 differently: the opposition focuses on failures and the lack of a state inquiry; Netanyahu emphasizes post-attack military achievements. The flydubai incident gives Bennett and Eisenkot an opening to argue that systemic vulnerabilities remain. The article notes that the gap closed because the opposition lost ground, not because Netanyahu's bloc significantly increased.