Israel vote next week to decide if Netanyahu gets another term

Three years after the Hamas-led attacks on Israel that triggered the war in Gaza, Israeli voters will decide whether to grant Benjamin Netanyahu

yet another term as prime minister - or usher in a new era of Israeli politics.

This as Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said Tuesday that his country has offered to mediate between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis,

but Tehran has yet to receive a response from either party.

The Houthi rebels released footage on Wednesday that they claim shows their fighting against the Saudi-backed forces in Marb, a critical city in north-central Yemen.

This as cross border attacks between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia have intensified, clashes escalating across multiple fronts.

In southern Yemen a mass funeral was held for 75 new recruits killed earlier in the week in a Houthi missile strike the deadliest attack since the resurgence of fighting in Yemen's civil war.

Speaking at a national security session of the Egypt 2026 Forum Wednesday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi dismissed talks that Egypt would support Saudi Arabia against the Houthis by attacking Yemen.

He said cooperation with the kingdom would focus on defending its territory and borders, not fighting beyond borders.

This as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited a mall in the southern Israeli city of Dimona and told his supporters if they want to overthrow Iran's regime, they should vote for his

Likud party.

77-year-old Netanyahu is Israel's longest-serving prime minister and the most dominant force in Israeli politics.

Israeli voters will decide next week whether to grant Netanyahu yet another term as prime minister or usher in a new era of Israeli politics.

Polling suggests a tight race between Netanyahu and his chief rival, Gadi Eisenkot, who leads the centrist Yashar for control of the government.

Meanwhile Palestinians in the occupied West Bank are looking ahead to Israel's election questioning whether a change in government could alter policies shaping their lives under Israeli occupation.

More than 3 million Palestinians have lived under Israeli military rule in the occupied territory since the 1967 Mideast war but have no say in choosing the leaders who make decisions about settlements and security measures that have a direct bearing on their lives.