Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu boasted of his endorsement from Donald Trump on the eve of Israel's election, suggesting the two leaders could restart their war against Iran if he wins, after Trump said they should finish the job. Tuesday's vote is Israel's first since the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks, and the first chance for voters to deliver a verdict on the security failure and the wars that followed.

What Trump and Netanyahu said

In a social media post on Sunday, Trump, who launched the Iran war jointly with Netanyahu in February, said: Vote for Bibi Netanyahu for Prime Minister, we have to finish the job that we started. Netanyahu said on Sunday night that Trump has a friendship with him that has never existed before between an Israeli prime minister and an American president, and that Trump says he is calling on voters to vote for him.

Netanyahu's claim about Iran

Netanyahu said Trump was willing to take action that would finally remove the Iranian threat, but only as long as Netanyahu himself remains in power. He said he had already instructed the Mossad and the IDF to bring down the Iranian regime, because that is the only way to put an end to the threat. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Netanyahu's remarks.

The opposition response, and a close race

Netanyahu's leading opponent, centrist former military chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot, praised Trump as a true friend of Israel, and said he was confident Trump would work in full cooperation with any leader chosen by the people. Recent polls put Eisenkot's Yashar party slightly ahead of Netanyahu's Likud party, but the race is too close to call, and neither side is expected to secure a clear parliamentary majority.