2026 Israeli Legislative Election

Israel held five national elections in less than four years — in April 2019, September 2019, March 2020, March 2021, and November 2022. The rapid succession reflected recurring coalition deadlock and political instability, leaving Israel without an election held on its regular schedule for nearly four decades.[1]

The 25th Knesset was elected on November 1, 2022, and Israel's 37th government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was sworn in on December 29.[2][3] The coalition included Likud, Shas, United Torah Judaism, Religious Zionism, Jewish Power, and Noam, combining right-wing and ultra-Orthodox parties.[1]

The Hamas-led terrorist attack of October 7, 2023, and the subsequent military campaigns in Gaza, Lebanon, and against Iran transformed the political environment. They elevated national-security questions while disputes over hostage agreements, judicial reform, and exemptions from military service for Haredi yeshiva students placed additional pressure on the coalition.[1][2]

In May 2026, Likud moved to dissolve the government after Haredi parties objected to proposed legislation that would make it harder for Haredi young men to avoid military service.[4] A dissolution bill passed its first Knesset reading with 106 votes in favor and none opposed, with a proposed election window initially running from September 8 through October 20.[5] The coalition ultimately set October 27 as election day at a meeting on July 12.[2]

Before the October 27 date was confirmed, it was the subject of proceedings before the Central Elections Committee, chaired by Supreme Court Justice Noam Solberg.[3] The dispute concerned the interpretation of Basic Law: The Knesset and whether the 25th Knesset was entitled to a standard four-year term or an additional year because the preceding Knesset had dispersed early.

Likud, Shas, and United Torah Judaism supported elections in Cheshvan 5788, including a proposed date of November 2, 2027, which would have produced a term of approximately five years. Yesh Atid, National Unity, Labor, and the legal advisers to the government and Knesset supported Cheshvan 5787, corresponding to October 2026.[3]

Solberg adopted the 5787 interpretation, concluding that the constitutional framework favored a four-year term. Decision H.S. 1/26 designated Tuesday, October 27, 2026 — 16 Cheshvan 5787 — as the date for the Central Elections Committee's preparations, subject to the possibility that the Knesset could disperse earlier under the Basic Laws.[3] The ruling calculated that the 25th Knesset would otherwise have a tenure of four years and ten days.[3]

The 25th Knesset formally dispersed on July 17, 2026, when lawmakers approved the dissolution measure in its second and third readings.[2] The vote was 62–0, with support from coalition and opposition lawmakers and no votes against.[1][2] Because dissolution did not advance election day, the electoral cycle remained tied to the statutory October 27 date, making the 2026 vote the first Israeli national election held on schedule since 1988.[1]

Before approving dissolution, the coalition passed legislation maintaining mandatory Israel Defense Forces service for men at 32 months rather than allowing it to fall to 30 months at the beginning of 2027.[2] The legislation passed with ultra-Orthodox support, but it did not resolve the broader dispute over military service for Haredi yeshiva students.[2]

Members of the 25th Knesset continued serving until the first session of the newly elected Knesset, while the government remained in office until a new government was established.[3] A party-funding law passed during the same period included a provision dissolving the 25th Knesset before the election period formally began.[6]

The election follows Israel's national proportional-representation system. Israel constitutes a single electoral district; voters cast one direct, secret ballot for a party list rather than an individual district candidate. The Knesset has 120 seats, and mandates are allocated proportionally among qualifying lists.[7]

A list must receive at least 3.25 percent of counted votes to enter the Knesset, giving smaller parties an incentive to form alliances before an election.[7][8] Remaining mandates are allocated using the Bader-Ofer method. Two lists may sign a surplus-vote agreement to pool their remaining votes without merging or committing to post-election cooperation, but the agreement operates only if both lists independently cross the threshold.[1]

Israeli citizens who are at least 18 years old on election day and registered in the voters' registry are eligible to vote.[9] Election day is a national holiday and day of rest throughout the economy, including the education system, although public transportation is scheduled to operate normally.[3][9] Most polling stations operate from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.; stations in smaller communities, hospitals, and prisons operate from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Voters still in line at closing time retain the right to vote if they remain in the queue.[3]

General absentee voting is not available to Israelis living abroad.[3] Overseas voting begins October 20 and is limited to diplomatic-mission employees and their families, military officials stationed abroad, and representatives of national institutions serving overseas under applicable law.[3] Voting was planned at more than 100 Israeli diplomatic missions worldwide.[10]

The official election timetable listed October 27, 2026, as election day. Candidate-list submission was scheduled for September 6–7, with notification of approved lists due by September 27. Other deadlines covering voter-registry corrections, candidate-list defects, and requests to bar lists or candidates fell between late July and late September.[11]

Once the final lists had been submitted, parties could no longer form new alliances or mergers.[12] Official results were scheduled to be confirmed on November 4, with appeals permitted through November 18.[3]

Television and radio campaign broadcasts are permitted only during the 21 days immediately preceding election day, beginning October 13.[3] Every party receives a baseline amount of official broadcast time under statutory formulas, while parties represented in the outgoing Knesset receive additional airtime based on their number of lawmakers.[3]

The Central Elections Committee's reduced 2026 budget proposal totaled approximately 690.042 million shekels. About 593.151 million shekels were allocated to conducting the election, with approximately 96.891 million shekels assigned to the committee's regular activities.[10] The proposal attributed part of the increase over the previous election budget to higher costs since 2022.[10]

Preparations anticipated more than 13,000 polling stations in approximately 4,300 polling-site clusters and more than 70,000 election-week employees, including approximately 60,000 polling-committee members.[10] Twenty regional election committees and six subsidiary committees were planned to coordinate administration across Israel.[10]

The proposal included approximately 10 million shekels for cybersecurity, about 17 percent of the information-technology budget.[10] Planned public-information campaigns covered election integrity, misinformation, voter turnout, voting procedures for evacuees, and emergency-election arrangements.[10]

The political field entering the election was shaped by mergers, new parties, and list negotiations driven partly by the 3.25 percent electoral threshold.

Likud, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, remained the governing party.[1] The Religious Zionist Party, headed by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, merged with Moshe Feiglin's Zehut before the final lists were filed.[12] Mosaic described the agreement as allowing Zehut to avoid repeating its failure to cross the electoral threshold in a previous election.[13] It also reported that Jewish Power leader Itamar Ben-Gvir had ended his alliance with Smotrich and identified Ofer Winter's newly formed Amcha Yisrael as another force on the right.[13] Yisrael Beiteinu continued under Avigdor Lieberman.[1]

Shas, United Torah Judaism, and a new Haredi Public party submitted lists.[12] Haredi Public placed Moti Leitner, Asher Freddy, Dr. Nechumi Yaffe, and Ziva Glantz in its first four positions. Yaffe was described as the first Haredi woman candidate for the Knesset.[12] Shas placed Lt.-Col. (Res.) Dror Amos sixth. Amos served in the IDF for 25 years, established an organization assisting bereaved families with religious funeral customs, and founded the "Kaddish for Every Holy Soul" initiative after October 7.[12]

In April 2026, Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid announced that Bennett's political organization and Yesh Atid would contest the election together as B'Yachad, meaning "Together."[1] Former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot formed the centrist Yashar party, meaning "Upright." Yair Golan led the Democrats, while Benny Gantz led Blue and White.[1]

Blue and White submitted a separate list headed by Gantz, followed by Pnina Tameno-Shete, Aliza Bloch, and Roee Konkol.[12] Yoaz Hendel's Reservists party, Mansour Abbas's Ra'am, and a restored Joint List were also among the lists submitted before the deadline.[12]

The campaign was expected to focus on interconnected security and domestic-policy questions shaped by the period since October 7, 2023.[2]

Security and the regional threat from Iran were among the leading anticipated issues. The election followed military campaigns in Gaza, Lebanon, and against Iran, while responsibility for the October 7 terrorist attack, the fate of the hostages, and possible investigations into the failures surrounding the attack remained subjects of debate.[1]

Military conscription was another contentious issue. The outgoing Knesset maintained mandatory IDF service for men at 32 months, while the broader dispute over exemptions for Haredi yeshiva students remained unresolved.[2] Mosaic argued that many non-Haredi Israelis considered the proposed changes to Haredi conscription insufficiently stringent.[4]

Judicial reform remained a live campaign issue after generating mass protests early in the government's term. The powers of the attorney general, government oversight of broadcast media, and the form of an investigation into the October 7 failures were also contested during the outgoing Knesset's final months.[1]

A Congressional Research Service report identified potential consequences for Israeli policy toward Iran, Lebanon, Gaza, the West Bank — known by its original, indigenous Jewish name of Judea and Samaria — Syria, and Yemen. It also discussed military operations, settlement expansion and possible annexation in Judea and Samaria, Palestinian statehood, judicial changes, and relations with the United States.[14] A Hebrew Union College commentary projected that the result could substantially affect how American Jews engage with Israel and its government.[15]

Polling before the final submission of party lists showed a competitive race without a clear parliamentary majority. A KAN News poll reported on August 19 placed Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar at 24 projected mandates and Likud at 23. B'Yachad was projected at 14, the Democrats at 10, Jewish Power and Yisrael Beiteinu at nine each, United Torah Judaism at eight, Shas at seven, and New Hope at six.[16]

The poll gave 57 mandates to the opposition excluding Arab parties, 11 to Arab parties, and 52 to Netanyahu's coalition, leaving neither side with the 61 seats required for a majority.[16][1] These figures were projections rather than election results. With several parties near the electoral threshold, relatively small changes in alliances or turnout could affect which leader received an opportunity to form a government.[1]

Pre-election polling indicated that neither Netanyahu's coalition nor the parties opposing him were assured a majority.[1] A Congressional Research Service report identified two possible outcomes if neither side could form a government: a broader coalition involving Likud and one or more opposition parties, or a Netanyahu-led caretaker government while Israel prepared for another election, potentially in early 2027.[14]

The report noted that Netanyahu had previously led caretaker governments for more than a year during the 2019–2020 coalition deadlocks.[14] Until a new coalition was established after the election, Netanyahu and the incumbent 37th government remained in office.[2]

The decision to retain the statutory election date made the 2026 vote Israel's first national election held on schedule since 1988. It followed five elections between April 2019 and November 2022 and therefore marked a break from the recurring coalition deadlocks of that period.[1]

The election also followed the Hamas-led October 7 terrorist attack, three years of military conflict, and sustained domestic upheaval over judicial reform and military conscription.[1][2] Participants in a Hebrew Union College seminar reported that many Israelis regarded the election as historically consequential and believed its outcome would shape the country's trajectory for years.[17]

The Bennett-Lapid merger, Eisenkot's emergence as a leading centrist challenger, the creation of Haredi Public, and realignment among right-wing parties reflected a political field in substantial flux.[1][12] Given the proportional system and the number of parties near the threshold, small changes in vote share could affect coalition formation.[1]

The principal legal controversy concerned whether the 25th Knesset's term should lead to an election in October 2026 or be extended into November 2027. Likud, Shas, and United Torah Judaism supported the later interpretation, while other parties and the government and Knesset legal advisers supported the earlier one. Justice Noam Solberg's decision adopted the October 2026 interpretation.[3]

Military conscription also remained politically contentious. Although the final-session legislation maintained mandatory service for men at 32 months with ultra-Orthodox support, it did not resolve the dispute over Haredi yeshiva-student exemptions.[2] Mosaic linked the May dissolution effort to Haredi dissatisfaction with proposed legislation and reported that many non-Haredi Israelis considered the proposal insufficiently stringent.[4]

Polling and post-election scenarios remained projections rather than settled outcomes. The August KAN survey was a snapshot taken before the final lists were filed and did not establish the eventual election result or coalition composition.[16]