Israeli expats fly home to vote as voting abroad remains restricted

Tens of thousands of Israeli expatriates are expected to fly home to vote in the upcoming national election because Israeli law does not allow citizens to cast ballots from abroad. France 24 reported that supporters of opposition figure Gadi Eisenkot have gathered at the arrivals terminal at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv to welcome incoming voters. [1]

An initiative named Fly and Vote is helping Israeli expats organize their return trips to participate in the election. France 24 reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party launched a petition to restrict the travel initiative, but the effort failed. [1]

As FTMQ News reported earlier, Tuesday's vote will be the country's first national election since the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas, serving as a referendum on Netanyahu. Netanyahu is currently leading Israel's thirty-seventh government, a coalition formed on December 29, 2022 that includes the Likud, Shas, Otzma Yehudit, Religious Zionist Party, and New Hope parties. [2][4]

Major issues in the election campaign include military draft exemptions for ultra-Orthodox Israelis and a stalled inquiry into the security failures of October 7. Israeli authorities also conducted a massive military exercise prior to the vote, following warnings from Netanyahu to Iran against trying to disrupt the election. [4]