Israelis choose today between Prime Minister Netanyahu and challenger Eisenkot

Polling stations opened this morning for what Het Nieuwsblad calls historic elections. The choice is between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his main challenger Gadi Eisenkot, a former army chief of staff. VRT NWS describes Eisenkot as a sober former general rather than a showman; the polls show a close race and experts call the outcome unpredictable.

De Standaard spoke to Eisenkot supporters in Tel Aviv, who see him as honest, and published an opinion piece arguing that it makes little difference to the Palestinians who wins. Het Nieuwsblad's liveblog carries a report that Netanyahu wanted to attack Iran before the vote.

VRT NWS also points to a campaign trend in Israel, the US and Spain: parties are using AI to make fake videos of their opponents themselves.