Israelis will turn out to vote some ten months before the end of the current Knesset’s parliamentary term. The ostensible reason why elections were advanced is that the two main partners in the national unity government, Likud and Labour, could not reach agreement over the 2003 budget. Just before the first reading of the budget bill, the parties failed to find common ground on the question of how much, if at all, allocations to Jewish settlements should be reduced within an austerity budget necessitated by a prolonged recession.
Israel: Security or Peace?
As usual, foreign and security policy will be at the core of Israel’s election. While the security candidate’s aims are clear enough, can the peace candidate find a peace option that will convince the voters?
