As Israel's election approaches on 27 October, political manoeuvring has reached fever pitch, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu working to prevent coalition defections while facing a damaging halachic ruling against a key ally and a fresh exposé over Qatari money transfers to Gaza. Abroad, a US presidential endorsement and European pressure over West Bank violence have added to the diplomatic backdrop.

Politics

With the election just over a week away, Prime Minister Netanyahu's office has been working behind the scenes to prevent the Noam party, led by MK Avi Maoz, from withdrawing its candidacy, reportedly approaching the party's spiritual patron Rabbi Tzvi Tau without success, as well as lobbying the 'Haredi Public' party. Meanwhile, Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef issued a halachic ruling declaring it forbidden to vote for Otzma Yehudit, citing National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir's visits to the Temple Mount. Ben Gvir responded by claiming he had 'verified information' that Netanyahu's office had promised European governments he would not be part of the next government, an accusation Likud firmly denied as a 'false political spin'. Separately, Joint List chairman Ahmad Tibi said his party would back the opposition's push to remove Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana as soon as the next Knesset convenes, without waiting for a new government to be formed, and confirmed plans to advance legislation targeting Netanyahu's legal status. In a rare briefing with journalists, Netanyahu vowed to topple the Iranian regime and complete the war's objectives, while downplaying recent settler violence in the West Bank. Opposition leaders Yair Lapid and Gadi Eisenkot sharply criticised the Prime Minister's newly unveiled security doctrine, with Lapid calling it 'a shallow and strange document' and Eisenkot arguing Netanyahu had failed on all four stated war goals.

Security

A Time magazine investigation, based on official correspondence and testimony from Israeli, American and Arab officials, has revealed documents showing Israel's direct and sustained involvement over more than a decade in the mechanism transferring roughly two billion dollars from Qatar to Gaza. The report states former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen thanked Qatar's emir for the funding even after Netanyahu had reportedly received intelligence, more than a year earlier, indicating the money was bolstering Hamas's military capabilities. The investigation also points to a senior National Security Council official who pushed to continue the payments even as senior Israeli figures publicly criticised Doha. Separately, a person was lightly wounded in a shooting incident in Jaffa on Sunday, prompting a police investigation, while a defence think tank report from INSS warned that the Gaza war and West Bank violence are making life more difficult for Jewish communities abroad, with its co-author expressing hope that the coming election will produce a government more attentive to these security concerns.

International

US President Donald Trump issued a strong endorsement of Netanyahu nine days before the Israeli election, declaring the Prime Minister 'will never let you down' and warning that alternative Israeli leaders might leave Washington to face Iran alone. Meanwhile, the European Union demanded 'full accountability' following a settler attack on diplomats in the West Bank, calling for effective measures to prevent further assaults during the olive harvest season amid reports of additional attacks over the weekend. In Costa Rica-related diplomatic news, Rebeca Grynspan, a Jewish former Costa Rican vice president whose parents fled Poland in 1936, has emerged as a frontrunner to lead the United Nations. Separately, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that four soldiers were killed and dozens injured in a fire at the Wainwright military base in Alberta, describing it as one of the worst peacetime disasters to befall Canada's armed forces on home soil.

Sources: Ynet, Walla, www.israelhayom.co.il, Times of Israel, Jerusalem Post