Updated

With Israel's parliamentary election weeks away, political maneuvering has intensified. Polls (Zman Yisrael, Channel 13) show opposition leader Eisenkot's party opening a lead over Netanyahu's Likud, though both blocs remain short of a majority, while a separate Israel Democracy Institute survey found most Jewish Israelis want an Oct. 7 inquiry and favor ultra-Orthodox conscription. Netanyahu rejected Ben Gvir's demand for the defense or police ministry, angering Otzma Yehudit, while Likud and Smotrich's Religious Zionism announced plans to deploy activists at Arab polling stations, drawing accusations of a 'racist campaign' from the Joint List. Right-wing protesters also stormed a Tel Aviv building housing the Joint List's campaign office. Trump, asked about Netanyahu in a Newsmax interview, said he 'doesn't trust anybody' in politics and claimed Israeli officials want him involved in the campaign. Separately, commentary pieces highlighted growing numbers of women set to enter the Knesset and a profile describing Netanyahu as increasingly paranoid amid his rift with former security chiefs three years after October 7.