Latest / Israel Today: Ongoing War Report / Israel Election Deadlock & Iran Election Meddling

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Israel Election Deadlock & Iran Election Meddling · Israel Today: Ongoing War Report

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  Speaker 1: You're listening to Israel Today ongoing war report. I'm Noah Levi.
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  Speaker 1: Israel's recent general election has concluded without a clear majority
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  Speaker 1: for any single bloc, leading to significant political uncertainty. Official
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  Speaker 1: central elections, committee figures, show Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc
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  Speaker 1: securing 53 seats in the Knesset, while the opposition bloc
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  Speaker 1: garnered 48. A record-breaking 19 seats were won by Arab parties,
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  Speaker 1: positioning them as potential kingmakers in coalition negotiations. President Isaac
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  Speaker 1: Herzog is set to consult with party leaders to determine
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  Speaker 1: who will receive the first opportunity to form a government.
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  Speaker 1: Adding to the complexity, the Shin Bet is investigating suspicions
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  Speaker 1: of foreign entities influencing voter turnout, particularly within the Arab sector,
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  Speaker 1: with reports naming Qatar and Turkey as potential actors. Pollsters
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  Speaker 1: have also admitted to a serious miscalculation, significantly underestimating the
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  Speaker 1: strength of Netanyahu's bloc, with one pollster calling it a mistake.
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  Speaker 1: A serious mistake. Efforts to form a coalition face hurdles,
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  Speaker 1: as parties like Yair Golan's Democrats propose including Arab parties.
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  Speaker 1: A move met with red lines from other opposition leaders
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  Speaker 1: like Gadi Isinkot and Avigdor Liberman following the October 7th attacks.
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  Speaker 1: The possibility of another election looms. Within this political landscape,
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  Speaker 1: the Shah's party is facing one of its worst electoral
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  Speaker 1: defeats in history, projected to fall from 11 to approximately
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  Speaker 1: six Knesset seats. Party officials attribute this severe loss to
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  Speaker 1: a hardline stance on Haredi military enlistment and controversial public statements.
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  Speaker 1: Former Shah's minister Shlomo Benizri and commentator Barak Seri have
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  Speaker 1: specifically blamed party leader Arai Deri for the outcome. On
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  Speaker 1: the regional front, Iran is reportedly preparing significant cyber operations
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  Speaker 1: and recruitment efforts aimed at interfering in both the upcoming
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  Speaker 1: US midterm elections and Israel's recent general election. According to
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  Speaker 1: reports citing Iranian officials speaking to The Telegraph, Tehran views
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  Speaker 1: these electoral processes as opportunities to weaken its adversaries, seeking
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  Speaker 1: to destabilise both nations. The objective, as described by these officials,
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  Speaker 1: is to constrain Israel and the United States' ability to
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  Speaker 1: conduct military operations against Iran. While penetration of voting systems
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  Speaker 1: has not been confirmed, Iran is closely observing Israel's election outcomes,
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  Speaker 1: as any political instability could benefit Tehran by limiting Israel's
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  Speaker 1: strategic decision-making capabilities. In the disputed territories, UN special rapporteurs
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  Speaker 1: have issued a stark warning regarding what they term scholasticide
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  Speaker 1: in Gaza. describing the systematic destruction of education and media.
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  Speaker 1: They report that 98% of schools and all 13 universities
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  Speaker 1: in Gaza have been destroyed, with nearly 21,000 Palestinian students killed.
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  Speaker 1: These rapporteurs suggest this destruction aims to dismantle Palestinian society itself.
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  Speaker 1: In the West Bank, the Israeli military may reduce or
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  Speaker 1: exit its presence from a Hebron neighbourhood this weekend, potentially
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  Speaker 1: allowing evacuated Palestinians to return to their homes. The IDF
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  Speaker 1: had occupied the area following a recent Hamas attack, citing
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  Speaker 1: a connection to a Hamas-linked clan. Though the IDF provided
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  Speaker 1: little specific information about the offences of the evacuated Palestinians,
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  Speaker 1: Prime Minister Netanyahu had previously rejected IDF recommendations to leave
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  Speaker 1: the area but may show more flexibility now that the
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  Speaker 1: election has passed. Elsewhere, federal authorities are investigating a pattern
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  Speaker 1: of alleged anti-Semitic assaults. The suspect is accused of committing
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  Speaker 1: multiple attacks, including a stabbing and a needle attack on
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  Speaker 1: the same day, in addition to a prior assault outside
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  Speaker 1: a yeshiva last year. Finally, on the economic and defence front,
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  Speaker 1: Australia is considering purchasing missile interceptors developed for Israel's Iron Dome.
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  Speaker 1: Officials cited rapid changes in warfare and a significant surge
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  Speaker 1: in drone incursions as reasons for their interest in building
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  Speaker 1: a ground-based missile defence system by the early 2030s. For
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: continuing coverage of antisemitism around the world, listen to Antisemitism
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: Watch from Clockwork Media. Find it at clockworkmedia.org slash watch.
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  Speaker 1: I'm Noah Levi, thank you for listening to Israel Today
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: Ongoing War Report. Stay safe and informed. Follow Israel Today
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  Speaker 1: Ongoing War Report in your podcast app so you don't
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: miss the next update. Keep in mind that this AI-generated
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: report may contain occasional inaccuracies, so consult multiple sources for
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  Speaker 1: a comprehensive view.