Netanyahu's handling of Oct. 7 emerges as key issue in Israeli election

With Israeli voters heading to the polls in under three weeks, the question of who bears blame for the October 7 attacks has become the dominant theme of the campaign's final stretch, according to Dan Shapiro, who served as U. S. ambassador to Israel under the Obama administration. Speaking to PBS NewsHour a day after Israel marked three years since the Hamas assault, Shapiro said he has been in the country about 24 hours and found the issue unavoidable. Gadi Eisenkot leads an opposition coalition arguing that Benjamin Netanyahu misjudged Hamas and failed to respond or prepare adequately. Netanyahu and his allies counter that security and intelligence chiefs and military generals withheld information and did not wake him in time to act. Shapiro described the race as very tight, with a possible deadlock that could leave Netanyahu as caretaker leader until another vote a few months later.

The discussion also covered a New York Times report that a senior U. S. Embassy official has been rewriting cables so conditions in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank look more favorable, including a staff memo on quiet settlement expansion that allegedly never reached Washington.

Summarized by PolitiKool from PBS NewsHour’s reporting. Read the full story at PBS NewsHour →