If anyone thought Israel's main focus ahead of the Sept. 17 repeat election would be campaign debates, then missile barrages and rhetorical firebombs put that assumption to rest.
With just two weeks before voters deliver their referendum on Benjamin Netanyahu's rule for the second time in five months, violence flared along Israel's border with Lebanon and the prime minister started talking again about annexing more than 120 Jewish settlements in the West Bank. That long-shunned notion has gained currency in nationalist circles in recent years, eclipsing the land-for-peace mantra that once reigned.
On Sunday, antitank missiles from Iran's Lebanese Hezbollah proxy, following a suspected Israeli attack on group operatives in Syria last month, touched off an exchange of fire with the Israeli military but stopped short of a major escalation. The Trump administration, whose long-promised peace plan is on hold until after the Israeli vote, voiced support for Israel as the threat of war loomed.
It's not clear whether Netanyahu's annexation talk is more than a campaign ploy: He's scrambling for votes as polls suggest he's no better able to form a coalition today than when he failed after winning May's election.But with the Israeli military accusing Iran of helping Hezbollah build precision-guided missiles, expect to hear more reports of unrest along that combustible frontier.
- Amy Teibel
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