Israel election 2026 sets Netanyahu against Eisenkot and Bennett

Who is running

Benjamin Netanyahu is Israel's longest-serving prime minister and leads Likud, the party that heads the right-wing government. He confirmed in June 2026 that he would run again.

Gadi Eisenkot, a former army chief of staff, leads Yashar, a centrist party formed on 16 September 2025. He resigned from Netanyahu's war cabinet in June 2024. He calls for an inquiry commission into the Hamas-led attacks of 7 October 2023.

Naftali Bennett, a right-wing politician, and Yair Lapid, a centrist, are both former prime ministers. Their parties announced the joint list Together in April 2026, with Bennett at its head. Smaller parties include Shas, an ultra-Orthodox party; Otzma Yehudit, the party of far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir; and The Democrats, a left-wing party led by Yair Golan.

How the vote works

Voters choose one party list, not a candidate. The whole country is a single electoral district. The 120 seats are shared out in proportion to the votes, among the lists that win at least 3.25% of the valid votes. Voters have a choice of 38 lists.

A government needs the support of 61 members. No party has ever won that many alone, so parties form coalitions. Most polling stations are open from 7:00 to 22:00 local time. About 7.56 million Israelis are eligible to vote.

How the race got here

The Knesset dissolved on 17 July 2026 after a full four-year term, the first it has completed since 1988. The election date of 27 October was set by law.

On 23 September the Central Elections Committee, the body that registers the party lists, barred the two Arab-led lists, Ra'am and the Joint List, and two candidates.

On 2 October the Supreme Court unanimously overturned the ban on both lists. It ruled 7-2 that Ofer Cassif, a member of parliament from the Joint List, may run. The other barred candidate, Sami Abu Shehadeh, head of the Balad party, withdrew from the race. On 4 October the court rejected a petition by The Democrats to remove Otzma Yehudit and its leader Itamar Ben-Gvir from the ballot.

What happens next

Television channels publish exit polls when polling stations close. The Central Elections Committee will publish official results by 4 November.

President Isaac Herzog then consults the leaders of the elected parties. By 11 November he must give one of them the mandate to form a coalition of at least 61 members. That person has up to four weeks. The outgoing government stays in office until a new one is formed.