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Israel is holding national elections next week, giving its citizens their first chance to pass judgment on Benjamin Netanyahu and his coalition since the Hamas-led attacks of 7 October 2023.

For our big story this week, chief Middle East correspondent Emma Graham-Harrison says that whether or not the prime minister can hold on to power, a more rightwing Knesset is expected to be voted in. More than half a million Israelis have reached voting age since the last election in 2022 and, according to polls, three-quarters of first-time Jewish voters define themselves as right or centre-right.

Peter Beaumont profiles opposition candidate Gadi Eisenkot. The former general contrasts with Netanyahu when it comes to style and character, he writes, yet on key policy points retains a studied ambiguity.

Then Israeli pollster and political analyst Dahlia Scheindlin argues that after three disastrous years, Israel needs to rethink itself, but only a clear opposition victory would let the country begin to heal, strengthen democracy and establish Palestinian rights.

Five essential reads in this week’s edition

Spotlight | ‘We are suffocating’ As protests that have convulsed Spain and France in recent weeks spill over to Italy and Portugal, Sam Jones reports on the rising wave of anger over the housing crisis and cost of living

Science | Taking a shot Could a drug to prevent shingles also protect our brains against dementia? The possibility, writes Ian Sample, is driving a boom in vaccinations

Feature | The Havana syndrome mystery Dozens of CIA officers have been afflicted by debilitating symptoms over the past decade. Are they the result of “mass hysteria” or are they from attacks with an energy weapon, asks Shaun Walker

Opinion | Another EU referendum? Not just yet The omertà on the UK rejoining has now been broken, but it would be folly to move too soon, says Polly Toynbee

Culture | Shygirl’s slog to the top She has opened for Beyoncé, writhed in a cubicle for Madonna – and is poised to take over the mainstream with her new rock sound. The pop auteur talks to Simran Hans about cash, class – and finding true love

What else we’ve been reading

Each week, country diary is a quiet corner of Guardian Weekly. A column tucked away at the end of the garden, inside the cosy shed, to relax and reconnect with nature over a brew (when you probably should be doing the weeding). Patrick Barkham caught up with one of our diarists, Mark Cocker, as he prepared to pen his 1,000th entry. Neil Willis, production editor

London has always been known for its inequalities. The sharp divide between the haves and have-nots that was true in Victorian times is evident in its own way today, as the housing crisis has left more than a quarter of Londoners living in poverty. Jessica Murray highlights a new exhibition charting the history of housing and poverty in the city over 200 years. Anthony Naughton, assistant editor

Other highlights from the Guardian website

Audio | ‘These risks are real’: the threat of AI bioweapons – podcast

Video | Why one of the US’s reddest counties is losing faith in Trump

Gallery | ‘You have to dance like everybody else!’ Burkina Faso in full colour

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