2026 Israeli legislative election
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Legislative elections are scheduled to be held in Israel on 27 October 2026 to elect all 120 members of the 26th Knesset. In this proportional representation system, parties must meet a 3.25% electoral threshold to enter the legislature.
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27 October 2026
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The 25th Knesset is the first Israeli legislature to serve its full term since 1988. The elections will determine the governing coalition that will succeed the 37th government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The election features Yashar, founded by former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, which is a new centrist party challenging Likud for the largest party position. Together, a joint list comprising Naftali Bennett's new party, Bennett 2026, and Yair Lapid's Yesh Atid, was formed in April 2026.
To the left, the Labor Party and Meretz have merged to form The Democrats, led by Yair Golan.
Background
After the 36th government lost its majority, snap elections were called in 2022. They resulted in the Netanyahu bloc gaining a majority,[3] and a government was successfully negotiated between Likud, Otzma Yehudit, Noam, Religious Zionist Party, United Torah Judaism, and Shas. The coalition was sworn in on 29 December 2022.[4][5][failed verification]
Following the October 7 attacks, the opposition party National Unity joined the government to form an emergency national unity coalition, with Benny Gantz and Gadi Eizenkot joining the newly formed war cabinet.[6] While the emergency coalition provided short-term stability, Netanyahu's government simultaneously faced sustained public and political pressure to resign and call for early elections.[7][8][9][10] The emergency coalition eventually fractured, with Gideon Sa'ar's New Hope faction splitting from National Unity and resigning from the government in March 2024 before rejoining in September[11][12] and ultimately agreeing in 2025 to merge with Likud.[13][14] The remaining National Unity alliance formally departed the government on 9 June 2024.[15] Otzma Yehudit temporarily exited the coalition in January 2025 in protest of a Gaza ceasefire agreement[16] and rejoined in March following the agreement's collapse.[17][18]
The coalition's stability was repeatedly tested by internal ideological fractures, most notably regarding the politically volatile issue of Haredi military conscription.[19] The instability reached a critical phase in July 2025, when both factions of United Torah Judaism (Degel HaTorah and Agudat Yisrael) resigned from the government in protest over the stalled conscription legislation.[20][21][22] Shortly after, Shas also withdrew its ministers from the government, further destabilizing the coalition.[23][24][25] While these parties often returned to their posts or remained in the coalition to avoid toppling the government, the recurring threat of collapse became a constant feature of Netanyahu's premiership.
These fractures persisted until May 2026, when legislative momentum for dissolution grew across the political spectrum.[26][27][28] However, with the Knesset nearing the completion of its full four-year term, these efforts would have only moved the election date forward by a few weeks.[29][30] Ultimately, the coalition managed these pressures.
Electoral system
The 120 seats in the Knesset are elected by closed list proportional representation in a single nationwide constituency. The electoral threshold for the election is 3.25%.[31] Two parties can sign a surplus vote agreement that allows them to compete for leftover seats as if they were running together on the same list. The Bader–Ofer method slightly favours larger lists, meaning that alliances are more likely to receive leftover seats than parties would be individually. If the alliance receives leftover seats, the Bader–Ofer calculation is applied privately, to determine how the seats are divided among the two allied lists.[32]
Timing
The 26th Knesset elections are scheduled for 27 October 2026.[33]
The Knesset formally dissolved on 17 July 2026.[33] By completing its full four-year term, the 25th Knesset became the first Israeli legislature to serve its full duration without early dissolution since 1988, and the 37th government became the first to complete a full term since the 1973 election.[34]
Political parties are required to submit their final candidate lists to the Central Elections Committee by 9 September 2026.[35]
Campaign issues
Military conscription
Since the start of the Gaza war, the issues of Haredi conscription in Israel and exemptions from military service have been heavily debated. During the war, support for Haredi conscription rose significantly, from 67% in January 2024 to 84.5% by January 2025.[36]
In June 2024, the Supreme Court of Israel declared any continued exemption of IDF conscription unlawful.[37] In response, officials in the ultra-Orthodox Shas party urged potential conscripts to ignore any call-ups from the IDF and to protest.[38] By the next month, the army began drafting 3,000 Haredi men.[39]
In 2025, Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Yuli Edelstein had been drafting a Haredi conscription bill, leading to internal division within the governing coalition as Haredi parties demanded continued military exemption.[40] On 23 July, Likud members voted to remove Edelstein and replace him with Boaz Bismuth by a vote of 29 in favor, with four opposed.[41] A poll published by Ma'ariv reported that 52% of respondents found the move to be inappropriate, while 24% found it appropriate, and 24% were unsure.[42]
Israeli opposition leaders have criticized the coalition's unwillingness to enforce a full conscription on eligible Haredi citizens, and have called for an end to Haredi exemptions from military service.[43] Inbar Gity of Yashar has named Haredi conscription "a top priority."[44] Similarly, the issue of Haredi conscription is considered a "central question" in the campaign of Yesh Atid and its leader Yair Lapid.[45] Gadi Eisenkot of Yashar indicated that he supports military service exemptions for up to three percent of Haredim enrolled in their yeshiva for religious study, but opposes the decades-old system that allowed significant exemptions to ultra-Orthodox men following the October 7 attacks.[46]
7 October investigation
One major issue in the election is an investigation into the October 7 attacks. On 6 February 2026, sitting prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a document of his answers during an investigation by the State Comptroller of Israel, which pinned the failures on Netanyahu's political rivals while presenting himself in a positive image.[47] This led to criticism from opposition lawmakers, including from Gadi Eisenkot, who recently founded a new party, Yashar, to contest in the elections. Eisenkot accused Netanyahu of creating a "fabricated defense" and that the document was published "out of a desire to improve his image, distance himself from blame and harm the other candidates facing him".[48] Naftali Bennett, a top contender in the election, has pledged to establish a commission of inquiry into 7 October as part of his campaign platform.[49]
Constitutionalism
According to a poll in December 2025, an estimated 71% of Israelis support establishing a constitution for the country instead of the existing Basic Laws of Israel.[50] Naftali Bennett's "Bennett 2026" party campaigned on creating a constitution as part of its election platform.[51] Bennett has implied that his support for a constitution is a response to the government efforts at judicial reform in 2023 and later again in 2025. He believes that the existing Basic Laws are unclear in how to legislate or repeal and by what majority, and that by contrast a constitution provides a "clear foundation".[52] The party platform of Yashar also supports enacting a constitution for the state.[53] Yisrael Beitenu has also campaigned on the issue.[54]
Term limits
In September 2025, Bennett announced that he would work towards implementing term limits for the prime minister if he was elected to lead a government.[49] After forming the Together alliance with Yair Lapid in April 2026, Bennett reiterated his platform of establishing term limits for the post of prime minister.[52]
Factions before the election
The following table displays the composition of the 25th Knesset prior to its dissolution on 17 July 2026:
| Faction | Party | Leader | Members | Status | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Likud | Likud | 32 |
Governing coalition | |||
| Yesh Atid | Yesh Atid | 24 |
Opposition | |||
| Shas | Shas | 11 |
Governing coalition | |||
| National Unity | Blue and White | 8 |
Opposition | |||
| Otzma Yehudit | Otzma Yehudit | 7 |
Governing coalition | |||
| United Torah Judaism | Degel HaTorah | 7 |
Opposition | |||
| Agudat Yisrael | ||||||
| Religious Zionist Party | Religious Zionist Party | 6 |
Governing coalition | |||
| Yisrael Beiteinu | Yisrael Beiteinu | 6 |
Opposition | |||
| United Arab List | United Arab List | 5 |
Opposition | |||
| Hadash–Ta'al | Hadash | 5 |
Opposition | |||
| Ta'al | ||||||
| Labor | Labor[d] | 4 |
Opposition | |||
| New Hope | New Hope | 4 |
Governing coalition | |||
| Noam | Noam | 1 |
Unaffiliated | |||
Retiring incumbents
The table below lists all members of the Knesset (MKs) who will not stand for re-election.
Publicly expressed interest
The following parties and alliances have announced their intention to contest the 2026 election. Official candidate lists will be finalized by the Central Elections Committee in September 2026.
The Democrats
Party head Yair Golan issued a statement in May 2026 calling for the Zionist opposition to work with Ra'am.[62] Several days later, Golan called for Gadi Eisenkot to either join his party or the Bennett-Lapid alliance, to avoid splitting the vote.[63]
The party launched its election campaign in Rabin Square on 25 July 2026.[64]
Zionist Home–The Reservists
On 15 August 2025, former minister and MK Yoaz Hendel founded The Reservists Party.[65] It was announced on 18 September that the party had registered to run in the next election.[66] The party launched a billboard campaign in early April against Haredi and Arab parties, which echoed a Likud campaign during the April 2019 Israeli legislative election.[67] The following month, Hendel announced the party's "Returning from the Battlefield program", which is focused on treating PTSD throughout the country.[68]
Hili Tropper, an MK with Blue and White, began the signature gathering process in June 2026 to form a new political party.[69]
On 7 July, it was announced that Tropper will run in an electoral alliance with The Reservists called "Yesodot Yisrael",[70] which later changed to "Zionist Home–The Reservists". They also announced their willingness to form a coalition with Netanyahu based on the consideration of "whether it is a Zionist government".[71]
Blue and White
Blue and White leader Benny Gantz has outlined his party's position to "put an end to boycotts and the war between blocs" and "form a broad Zionist government without extremists".[72] He also stressed that "Iran is never allowed to revive its nuclear program" and the importance of "preventing Hezbollah and Hamas from rebuilding their military capabilities".[73]
By late June 2026, Dedi Simchi announced his partnership with Gantz in the election, where the alliance would prioritize "a broad Zionist government" and to "expand enlistment".[74]
Joint List
The four parties that comprised the 2020 Joint List (Ra'am, Hadash, Ta'al and Balad) signed a preliminary agreement in January 2026 to work toward reviving the alliance.[75] Subsequent negotiations ended, as Ra'am leader Mansour Abbas was in favor of running on a technical list, which the other parties accepted. They additionally offered to have a joint platform, which Abbas was unwilling to do.[76] As of mid-June, Balad, Hadash, and Ta'al are focusing on a three-party alliance without Ra'am.[77]
Minor parties
- A Place for Us All: The leaders of Standing Together launched a new joint "Arab-Jewish party" on 16 June 2026.[78] The party is formally "independent" from the movement.[79]
- Beyachad Natzliach: Avi Shaked, a former Labor member, announced on 30 June 2025 the formation of a new Jewish-Arab party with businessman Dirar Amreikh and political strategist Yoram Dori.[80][81]
- Brotherhood Alliance: Wajdi Sarhan, a former commander of the IDF, launched a new Druze party on 4 May 2026.[82]
- The Fourth Quarter: This "centrist" social movement announced in June 2026 that it would form a party.[83]
- Haredi Public: The party is headed by Moti Leitner, the deputy mayor of Beit Shemesh.[84]
- Israel First: Sharren Haskel, the former deputy foreign minister, founded the party a day after resigning from the government.[85] She called for the formation of a "broad Zionist government" several days later.[86]
- Mayim Chaim: On 12 May 2025, Rabbi Haim Yosef Abergel announced the creation of a new ultra-Orthodox party competing with Shas.[87] He was arrested in August 2025.[88]
- New Economic Party: Yaron Zelekha announced in October 2025 that the party was preparing for the election.[89]
- Orot Hashachar: Nissim Louk and Jonathan Pollard launched this party in 2026,[90] though Pollard later dropped his bid.[91]
- Zeal for Equality in Service: Founded by former Labor MK Einat Wilf[92] on a platform of universal conscription.[93]
- Zehut: Headed by Moshe Feiglin, who announced an alliance with Michael Ben-Ari in May 2026.[94]
Ra'am
In March 2025, Ra'am leader Mansour Abbas indicated in March 2025 that he intended to run for the next Knesset election, but would not participate in the following election.[95]
On 5 January 2026, Ra'am announced that it would invite Jews to join its list, which was historically only open to Arabs.[96]
Abbas confirmed in a July 2026 Channel 12 interview that the party would not run as part of the Joint List.[97]
The party launched its election campaign in mid-July 2026 in Kafr Kanna, with members of the party saying that they would work as a "partner" in seeking to replace the current government.[98]
Together
In April 2025, Naftali Bennett registered a new party called Bennett 2026,[99] and announced the following November that he would contest the 2026 election.[100] Bennett announced a new initiative in April 2026 geared towards those with disabilities.[101]
On 26 April 2026, Bennett 2026 and Yesh Atid announced their intention to contest the election jointly in an alliance named Together.[102] Bennett and Lapid, who are the respective heads of their parties, had served as rotating prime ministers during the thirty-sixth government of Israel.[103]
Yashar
On 30 June 2025, Gadi Eisenkot resigned from Gantz's National Unity, in part over disputes over a leadership primary.[104] MK Matan Kahana followed the next day.[105] In September 2025, the two were among the founders of a new political party, Yashar.[106] Ahead of the 2026 elections, Yashar has engaged in ongoing discussions with Yisrael Beiteinu regarding political coordination, including a potential electoral alliance.[107][108][54]
On 30 June 2026, Eisenkot officially launched the party's campaign, centering his platform on government reform and the establishment of an inquiry commission into the 7 October attacks.[109]
Leadership elections and primaries
Leadership elections have been held by some parties to determine party leadership ahead of the election. Primary elections are held by some parties in advance of the national election to determine the composition of their party list.
Balad
Balad held its party primary on 27 June 2026. Sami Abu Shehadeh was re-elected as party leader, while the rest of the list included Bechar Aouda, Maher Karkabi Sabah, Hassan Nasarsa and Orly Noy, board chairwoman at B'Tselem and the list's first Jewish candidate.[110]
Blue and White
National Unity had announced on 8 June 2025 that it would hold leadership primaries.[111] The party's Knesset faction was renamed to Blue and White-National Unity in July 2025, following the departures of MKs Gadi Eisenkot and Matan Kahana from the party.[112] However, the primary was not held in 2025.[citation needed]
The Democrats
Following Labor's poor electoral performance in the 2022 Israeli legislative election, in which it won the minimum seats needed, Merav Michaeli announced in December 2023 her pending resignation as party chair.[113] Meretz was left out of the Knesset.[114] Yair Golan won a landslide victory in the May 2024 leadership primary election on a platform promising to unify the political left.[115] Labor and Meretz agreed to merge in July 2024, forming a new political party called The Democrats, with Golan serving as the unified party leader.[116] The new party approved the merger in May 2026.[117]
The Democrats held a digital primary on 20 July 2026, to determine their Knesset slate, with 97,000 of its 112,000 registered members casting ballots, an 86 percent turnout.[118] Party leader Golan secured the top spot on the list, followed by serving MKs Naama Lazimi, Gilad Kariv, and Efrat Rayten.[119] The list was organized using a zipper system to achieve gender parity.[120]
Hadash
Hadash closed its primary nominations on 14 May; the parties committee, known as the National Council, was allowed to cast ballots.[121] The party held its primary two days later; former MK Yousef Jabareen defeated Shukry Awouda for the position of chairman. Incumbent leader Ayman Odeh and MK Aida Touma-Suleiman did not stand for re-election.[57] It was the first party to select its electoral slate before the election.[122] The Hadash list includes Yousef Jabareen, Jafar Farah, Ofer Cassif, Youssef Atauna and Nihaya Wishahy.[123]
Likud
Likud formalized an agreement in August 2025 for the New Hope party to merge into it ahead of the next election.[124]
The party held its first Central Committee elections in over a decade in November 2025.[125]
Likud head Netanyahu supported a May 2026 plan to increase his control over the party's electoral list, allowing him to handpick ten candidates.[126] A planned vote by the party's central committee regarding Netanyahu's plan was delayed until 17 August, after the Lod District Court issued an injunction in July calling for the broader Likud electorate to be allowed to vote.[127] Following extensive internal negotiations and disputes, the Likud Constitution Committee voted that same month to give Netanyahu eight reserved slots on the Knesset slate.[128]
Ra'am
The Ra'am party announced in late July 2026 that it would hold its first primary on 22 August.[129]
Religious Zionist Party
The Religious Zionist Party re-elected party head Bezalel Smotrich in an internal vote in September 2025.[130]
The party's CEO, Yehuda Wald, announced early in July 2026 that the window for submitting candidacies for the party primary would close on 21 July.[131] The candidates include MKs Orit Strook, Michal Waldiger, Ohad Tal, Zvi Sukkot, and Simcha Rothman.[132]
The party primary was held on 26 July with Smotrich leading the list, as expected, and will be followed by Strook, Rothman, Sukkot, and Tal, who secured the top spots on the list. The list is not yet finalized, as Smotrich will have two reserved seats on the list; one that will be taken by Tzvika Mor, who is expected to be placed third by Smotrich, after it was reported that Mor's reserved slot would be within the "top-5 placement." The party's internal organ, the Central Committee, was allowed to vote on the party list; of the 173 eligible voters, 170 cast votes. Ofir Sofer and MK Moshe Solomon notably abstained from voting.[133] Votes were cast at polling stations in Jerusalem and at the party's headquarters in Shoham.[35]
The Reservists
Yoaz Hendel was elected head of the The Reservists party on 9 June.[134] A week later, the party held their primaries.[135]
Yesh Atid
Yesh Atid held its first leadership primary on 28 March 2024, in which party leader Yair Lapid narrowly beat MK Ram Ben-Barak 308 votes to 279, a margin of 29 votes.[136]
Electoral negotiations and exploratory talks
Leyamin Zion
An application to register a new party under the name "Leyamin Zion" (Hebrew: לימין ציון, lit. 'To the Right of Zion') was filed on 12 April 2026.[137] By June, religious and community figures, including Rabbi Benny Kalmanson, began reaching out to figures like Edelstein and former justice minister Ayelet Shaked to gauge interest in a party targeting dissatisfied modern Orthodox and right-wing voters.[138][139][140][141]
As negotiations progressed, Edelstein and Shaked worked together on "strategy" and "positions and principles", moving forward on "form[ing] a new party."[142]
"Likud B"
Discussions regarding a new national right-wing alternative independent of Netanyahu, dubbed "Likud B", began circulating among disaffected Likud members, including Yuli Edelstein, Moshe Kahlon, and Gilad Erdan, in 2026.[143] Erdan confirmed his openness to forming a new right-wing party in a May 2026 interview, and he and Edelstein reportedly reached initial agreements shortly thereafter.[144]
On 3 July, Edelstein officially announced his departure from Likud after two decades, citing irreconcilable differences on Ultra-Orthodox military exemptions and a desire to form a broad Zionist government.[145]
On 22 July 2026, it was reported that Edelstein and Erdan will form a "liberal right-wing party", with Erdan leading the list and Edelstein as the number two on the party's electoral slate. There were reported discussions taking place on having Aliza Bloch and Shvut Raanan, "one of the founders of the Reservists' Wives Forum", join the party slate. Shaked is not expected to join the new formation, while merger talks with Benny Gantz were unsuccessful.[146]
Gantz-led alliance
Between April and June 2026, Blue and White leader Benny Gantz engaged in extensive negotiations to form a broad centrist electoral alliance. Initial discussions included Yoaz Hendel (The Reservists), Yaron Zelekha (New Economic Party), and former Fire and Rescue Commissioner Dedi Simchi.[147][148][72] However, the comprehensive merger stalled by late June, primarily due to disagreements over future coalition building; Simchi supported the potential inclusion of ultra-Orthodox parties, while Hendel strictly opposed it.[83] Following the collapse of the broader talks in early July, Hendel withdrew from talks with Gantz to form a separate joint list with Hili Tropper.[70]
Unified Zionist opposition
From late summer 2025 to mid-2026, key opposition leaders held bilateral and multi-party meetings to coordinate strategy against the government.[149][150][151] In September 2025, Yisrael Beiteinu's Avigdor Lieberman, Yesh Atid's Yair Lapid, Yashar's Gadi Eisenkot, and The Democrats' Yair Golan established a "permanent forum" focused on developing a policy platform for a national constitution, universal military conscription, and preservation of the Jewish, democratic, and Zionist character of the state.[152] Lieberman also issued policy guidelines for a post-Netanyahu coalition.[153][154] Broader attempts at a unified multi-party alliance, particularly involving Naftali Bennett, Eisenkot, and Lapid,[155] faced friction over leadership positioning.[156] Ultimately Bennett and Lapid reached an agreement to run on a Bennett-led joint electoral list named Together in April 2026.[157]
Opinion polls
This graph shows the polling trends from the 2022 elections until the next election day using a local regression. Scenario polls are not included here. For parties not crossing the electoral threshold (currently 3.25%) in any given poll, the number of seats is calculated as a percentage of the 120 total seats.
See also
Notes
- Together is a joint list between Bennett 2026, headed by Bennett, and Yesh Atid, headed by Yair Lapid, with Bennett heading the combined list.[1] The 24 seats mentioned here are Yesh Atid's.
- The Democrats' members sit in the 25th Knesset as members of the Israeli Labor Party.[2]
- Although Labor and Meretz merged to form the Democrats already in 2024, a request to rename the faction accordingly was denied by the Knesset's House Committee in February 2025.[2]
- This refers to the leadership at the date of the Knesset's dissolution. Merav Michaeli was no longer the leader of the Israeli Labor Party or of its parliamentary faction on 17 July 2026; she was succeeded by Yair Golan, who is not an MK, as party leader, and by Efrat Rayten as faction leader.
- Michaeli was elected to the Knesset as a member of the Israeli Labor Party.
