Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and rival Gadi Eisenkot on Wednesday both pledged to form a government after an election left neither bloc with a parliamentary majority. Record voter turnout followed a divisive campaign dominated by the October 7, 2023 attack, while Arab Israeli parties made significant gains.

Exit polls on Tuesday showed that the opposition bloc led by Israeli opposition candidate Gadi Eisenkot gained a narrow edge over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud bloc in the Knesset.  Likud, however, was projected to be the largest single party in the Israeli parliament.

The turnout tells the tale. Israelis are casting ballots in their largest numbers in decades in the first general election since the October 7 attacks of 2023. The vote is seen as a referendum on the bloodiest day in the nation's history. But more broadly, what kind of Israel do citizens want? 

Annette Young is pleased to welcome Alain Greilsammer, Professor of Political Science at Bar-Ilan University in Tel Aviv. In the wake of the October 7 attacks, regional tensions with Iran, and deepening domestic divisions, Greilsammer argues that the election will be fundamentally shaped by concerns over democratic accountability, judicial independence and the unequal distribution of civic obligations. He warns Netanyahu’s policies risk transforming Israel into “something like an authoritarian or non-democratic state.” He suggests that Israel’s Arab political parties could play a decisive role in determining the election’s outcome. 

Erin Ogunkeye is pleased to welcome Ibrahim Abu Ahmad, Author, Palestinian Israeli political and peace activist and Head of Social Media for Israel's left-wing Democrats. “Currently, the sentiment in Israel is built around fear and trauma,” explains Ahmad. His most striking observation concerns the apparent contradiction between political leadership and public sentiment: “Many want to see an Arab-Jewish coalition. It's the leadership that is afraid to say it.” Ultimately, he moves beyond conventional electoral calculations to frame Arab-Jewish partnership as a question of democratic survival.

A list of academics, engineers, artists and activists chosen by Serbia’s student assemblies defeated long-ruling president Aleksandar Vucic's right-wing Serbian Progressive Party Sunday. The shock victory comes after nearly two years of student-led anti-corruption protests – and may serve as a model for other movements hoping to turn street demonstrations into concrete political change.

Erin Ogunkeye is pleased to welcome Ron Gerlitz, CEO of aChord Center at Hebrew University, an Israeli organization specialising in the social psychology of intergroup relations. “The main issue in this election is the fight for Israeli democracy,” explains Gerlitz. And beneath the struggle over democratic institutions lies the erosion of Benjamin Netanyahu's longstanding association with national security. Gerlitz also examines the psychological foundations of Netanyahu's enduring support, the influence of conspiracy narratives, the electoral significance of Arab parties and the uncertain future of the two-state solution.

Critics have said that a proposed French law that would make rioters liable to pay thousands of euros for any damage they cause is anti-democratic, as it could undermine the legitimate right to protest. The government put forward the law in a bid to quell looting and vandalism on the fringes of ongoing national protests over poor conditions in French schools and the high cost of living.

French lawmakers held a minute of silence for Pengo Bossio Wangi. The victim of a racist attack died in a shooting last week, while at least five other people were wounded, including a 12-years-old girl. FRANCE 24’s Claire Paccalin reports from the ground.

Israelis were voting Tuesday (October 27) in a tense national election widely seen as a referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's leadership since the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and the wars that have since shaken the Middle East.

Israelis flocked to the polls Tuesday (October 27) in turnout unseen in decades, with a deeply divided electorate delivering a verdict on veteran right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the first election since the October 7, 2023 attack. FRANCE24's Kethevane Gorjestani tells us more.

Brazilian former presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro travelled to Argentina before flying to Ecuador, Argentina's government said Wednesday, days after his election defeat to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. He is en route to the US where allegedly he will seek asylum following his passports being nullified after failure to comply with a Supreme Court order in a money-laundering probe.

There is only one week left until the US midterm elections. In Texas, Democratic candidate James Talarico, could win a Senate seat for the first time in decades.

Africa's outbreak of the Ebola virus has passed more than 10,000 cases, health authorities said Tuesday, with the vast majority located in Democratic Republic of Congo. There are currently no approved vaccines for the rare Bundibugyo species of Ebola driving the current infections.

Israelis are voting in a pivotal election Tuesday (October 27) as their country wrestles with unresolved wars, continues to reel from Hamas' 2023 attack and is deeply divided over the character of the state and the right person to lead it. Details by FRANCE 24's International Affairs Editor, Angela Diffley.

Canadian electroclash artist Peaches has been delighting, amusing and shocking music lovers and festivalgoers for the past three decades. Her shows are also a safe space for all genders and sexualities, although less so if you are averse to crowd surfing, extravagant pubic wigs and body-augmenting costumes.