Veteran Israeli political analyst Nadav Perry told Radio 103FM this week that the call by Gadi Eisenkot for a televised debate with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a non-event, and that the real story of the election is happening at the threshold line, where two or three small parties could flip the entire bloc map.
"Netanyahu will not agree to a televised debate. The entire Israeli protocol that used to include debates has left the political stage. It's not going to happen," Perry said. "I don't think it's a significant event. It's a kind of ritual that repeats itself, Herzog calls him to a debate, Gantz calls him to a debate, Lapid calls him to a debate, Eisenkot calls him to a debate, and he doesn't come. I don't attach much importance to a debate that won't happen."
He then turned to what he believes will actually decide the outcome in the three weeks remaining before election day: the parties hovering around the electoral threshold, including the party led by former general Ofer Winter.
"Three weeks is a lot of time," Perry explained. "Even if there are no events at the news level, we saw yesterday in the Channel 11 poll that Winter's party does not pass. When Winter's party does not pass, this affects the bloc map."
