Israeli voters are driven by security, the Haredi question and Netanyahu: Analysis

Weeks before Israel's election on October 27, Dan Perry, former Associated Press chief in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, says security will always be paramount for Israeli voters. But he says the October 7 responsibility question is less effective against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu than might be expected.

Perry says other issues are critical to Israel's future, including what to do with the fast-growing ultra-Orthodox Haredi population, which does not join the army, and what he calls Netanyahu's efforts to turn Israel into an elected dictatorship.

On Gaza, Perry says many Israelis discuss the destruction there, but not with the introspection he would like. He says most Israelis frame October 7 through their own victimisation and believe Hamas deliberately invited civilian harm.

Perry says security concerns have made Israelis far less willing to risk a peace process, and that most would give up the West Bank if they did not fear attack from strategic high ground. He calls settler violence a disgrace and says the government's connivance is shameful.

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