Trump advisers say Netanyahu loss could benefit US agenda as Israel votes in deadlocked election against ex-army chief Eisenkot
Benjamin Netanyahu faces a deadlocked election on 27 October, with Arab parties holding enough seats to hand the opposition a majority if it joins forces with them.
President Donald Trump endorsed Benjamin Netanyahu last Sunday, yet his advisers reportedly believe a defeat could make it easier to advance his Middle East agenda. A polling average gives the anti-Netanyahu bloc 53 seats to his coalition's 51, short of the 61 needed. Tens of thousands of Israelis flew home to vote. Netanyahu, 77, has held office for 19 of the past 30 years.
Gadi Eisenkot's son, Gal Meir, 25, was killed fighting in Gaza.
Eisenkot calls the vote 'the most critical elections since the founding of the state'.
'He's the devil he knows,' one Trump adviser said of Netanyahu.
