2026 Israeli legislative election
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Legislative elections are scheduled to be held in Israel on 27 October 2026, to elect all 120 members of the 26th Knesset and determine the governing coalition that succeeds the 37th government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
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27 October 2026
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The outgoing 25th Knesset became the first Israeli legislature to complete its full four-year term without early dissolution since 1988, ending the prolonged political crisis of 2018–2022 that saw five consecutive snap elections. However, the government's tenure was marked by political turmoil, including mass protests over judicial reform, the 7 October attacks and subsequent Gaza war, and recurring coalition crises over Haredi military conscription.
In this proportional representation system, parties must meet a 3.25% electoral threshold to enter the legislature.
Background
After the 36th government lost its majority, snap elections were called in 2022. They resulted in Benjamin Netanyahu's 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]
In January 2023, the 37th government announced a package of proposed judicial reforms that would have significantly changed the balance of power between the judiciary and the executive and legislative branches.[6] The proposals triggered one of the largest protest movements in Israeli history, with weekly demonstrations taking place across the country for several months. Following mass protests, a nationwide general strike, and growing opposition from business leaders, military reservists and civil society organizations, Netanyahu announced in March 2023 that the legislative process would be suspended to allow negotiations with the opposition.[7]
Negotiations later broke down, and the coalition resumed advancing parts of the reform. In July 2023, the Knesset approved an amendment to Basic Law: The Judiciary preventing courts from applying the "reasonableness" standard to decisions of the government and its ministers.[8] On 1 January 2024, the Supreme Court, sitting as the High Court of Justice, ruled by an 8–7 majority that the amendment was unconstitutional and struck it down.[9]
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.[10] 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.[11][12][13][14] 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[15][16] and ultimately agreeing in 2025 to merge with Likud.[17][18] The remaining National Unity alliance formally departed the government on 9 June 2024.[19] Otzma Yehudit temporarily exited the coalition in January 2025 in protest of a Gaza ceasefire agreement,[20] and rejoined in March following the agreement's collapse.[21][22]
The coalition's stability was repeatedly tested by internal ideological fractures, most notably regarding the politically volatile issue of Haredi military conscription.[23] 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.[24][25][26] Shortly after, Shas also withdrew its ministers from the government, further destabilizing the coalition.[27][28][29] 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.[30][31][32] 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.[33][34] Ultimately, the coalition managed these pressures.
Campaign
Amcha Yisrael, a "right-wing party", was launched by Ofer Winter, a former IDF brigadier general, on 25 August 2026.[35] The party is in favor of joining a broad Zionist government, while the party's slate includes activist Yoseph Haddad and former Jerusalem deputy mayor Fleur Hassan-Nahoum.[36]
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".[37] 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".[38] By late June 2026, Dedi Simchi announced his partnership with Gantz in the election, where the alliance would prioritize "a broad Zionist government" and "expand enlistment".[39] In August, Gantz reiterated the priorities of a unity government as "security, service for all, a constitution, and public education" and also ruled out supporting a Netanyahu government.[40] Parties which are in favor of pursuing a unity government are known as the Third Bloc.[41]
The Democrats head Yair Golan issued a statement in May 2026 calling for the Zionist opposition to work with Ra'am.[42] Several days later, Golan called for Gadi Eisenkot to either join his party or the Bennett-Lapid alliance, to avoid splitting the vote.[43] The party launched its election campaign in Rabin Square on 25 July 2026.[44]
Haredi Public launched its election campaign on 23 August 2026.[45]
The four parties of the 2020 Joint List (Ra'am, Hadash, Ta'al and Balad) signed a preliminary agreement in January 2026 to work toward reviving the alliance, with support from the Arab public.[46] All parties (with the exception of Ra'am) agreed in late August 2026 to run together.[47]
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, of Likud, has warned against voters supporting small parties on the right, noting that if they don't meet the electoral threshold, a right-wing government may not retain power.[48] Ze'ev Elkin, the only Russian speaker on its list, was appointed the head of immigrant outreach on 25 August.[49]
Noam leader Avi Maoz announced in July 2026 that the party would rebrand itself as "Noam for Israel." The party's election campaign, launched on 29 July, also revealed the party’s initial list of Knesset candidates, former Kiryat Arba Council head Eliyahu Libman, and Beersheba Deputy Mayor Shimon Tubul.[50] The party announced in mid-August that it had added Yisca Hayimov, the sister of Shin Bet chief David Zini, as well as Liora Alon, an immigrant from France and former advisor to the Mayor of Jerusalem.[51]
Otzma Yehudit is expected to pursue voters from Likud and Shas who are dissatisfied with those parties.[52]
Ra'am opened its electoral slate in January 2026 to Jewish candidates.[53] Later that year, in August, party leader Mansour Abbas and former Yesh Atid MK Yoav Segalovitz confirmed that Segalovitz joined the party.[54] Abbas finalized the party's formal separation from the southern branch of the Islamic Movement in July 2026,[55] pivoting from Islamism towards an independent civic platform.[56] Ra'am announced in July that it would run separately from the proposed Joint List.[57] The following week, the party launched its campaign in Kafr Kanna, with Ra'am positioning itself as a pragmatic partner seeking to replace the Netanyahu government.[58]
Religious Zionist Party head Bezalel Smotrich called for increasing Jewish immigration in Galilee and the Negev in a 27 August speech.[59] The party began negotiations with Zehut head Moshe Feiglin over a joint run, as the emergence of Winter's party led to polling where the RZP was near or below the electoral threshold.[60] The two parties reached an agreement on 1 September to run as a technical bloc and were open to an alliance with other right-wing parties, while Winter dismissed the idea.[61] The RZP Central Committee approved the Zehut merger on 6 September.[62]
Shas leader Aryeh Deri launched the party's election campaign on 20 August 2026 in Holon.[63]
Naftali Bennett registered a new party called Bennett 2026 in April 2025[64] and announced the following November that he would contest the 2026 election.[65] Bennett announced a new initiative in April 2026 geared towards those with disabilities.[66] Later that month, Bennett 2026 and Yesh Atid announced their intention to contest the election jointly in an alliance named Together.[67] Bennett and Yair Lapid, who are the respective heads of their parties, had served as rotating prime ministers during the thirty-sixth government of Israel.[68]
Gadi Eisenkot resigned from Benny Gantz's National Unity on 30 June 2025, in part over disputes over a leadership primary.[69] MK Matan Kahana followed the next day.[70] The two were among the founders of a new political party, Yashar, which was formed on 16 September 2025.[71] Eisenkot officially launched the party's campaign on 30 June 2026, centering his platform on government reform and the establishment of an inquiry commission into the 7 October attacks.[72] Yesh Atid MK Elazar Stern joined the party on 24 August.[73]
On 5 August, it was reported that after leaving Likud, MK Dan Illouz announced that he had joined Yisrael Beiteinu and would run with the party in the next election. He stated that he joined because, according to Illouz, it is "the party that today represents the national and liberal values in which I believe."[74] On 23 August, the party reported the addition of Inbar Samovsky to its electoral list, a current Ra'anana City Council member.[51] Party leader Avigdor Lieberman called for opposition parties to gain "seats from the coalition bloc", rather than taking votes from each other.[75] Several days before the deadline for the submission of electoral lists, Lieberman emphasized that parties in the opposition should ally with each other to ensure that they pass the threshold.[76]
Timeline
- 8 September at 10 PM IST — Deadline for parties to submit their candidate lists to the Central Elections Committee[77]
- 20 October — Israelis at diplomatic missions vote at embassies[78]
- 27 October — Election day in Israel[78]
- 4 November — Election results are confirmed[78]
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%.[79]
Surplus-vote agreements
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 (D'Hondt) 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 again, to determine how the seats are divided among the two allied lists.[80]
Timing
The 26th Knesset elections are scheduled for 27 October 2026.[81] The Knesset formally dissolved on 17 July 2026.[81] 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.[82]
Campaign issues
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.[83] Bennett has campaigned on creating a constitution as part of its election platform.[84] Bennett 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".[85] The party platform of Yashar also supports enacting a constitution for the state.[86] Yisrael Beitenu has also campaigned on the issue.[87] Zionist Home – The Reservists, an alliance headed by Hili Tropper and Yoaz Hendel, is in favor of creating what it calls a "Zionist constitution", which would "strengthen checks and balances" in Israel.[88]
Cost of living
In April 2026, a report found that the costs of living in Israel is about 20% higher than in wealthy European countries.[89] In response, Bennett announced a plan for "declaring an all-out war on monopolies" and would "require monopolies to divest brands" while "providing farmers with direct support through fixed grants".[90] Yashar also campaigned on lowering the cost of living.[91]
Crime
Crime rates have risen in recent years particularly in Arab neighborhoods, with Tel Aviv District police chief calling it a "national emergency", and that "if we don't work together, we won't be able to win".[92] This issue has led to intense debates over potential causes and solutions.[93] In July 2026, the government approved a plan for the Shin Bet to tackle organized violent crime.[94] Arab-majority parties have also campaigned on crime reduction, including from the Joint List made up of Hadash–Ta'al and Balad.[95]
Investigation into the 7 October attacks
One major issue in the election is an investigation into the 7 October attacks. On 6 February 2026, sitting prime minister 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.[96] This led to criticism from opposition lawmakers, including from Gadi Eisenkot, who founded 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".[97] Eisenkot,[98] Yair Golan (The Democrats),[99] Avigdor Lieberman (Yisrael Beiteinu),[100] and Naftali Bennett (Together)[101] have all pledged to establish a state commission of inquiry into 7 October as part of their campaign platform.
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.[102] In June 2024, the Supreme Court of Israel declared any continued exemption of IDF conscription unlawful.[103] In response, officials in the ultra-Orthodox Shas party urged potential conscripts to ignore any call-ups from the IDF and to protest.[104] By the next month, the army began drafting 3,000 Haredi men.[105]
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.[106] 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.[107] 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.[108]
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.[109] Inbar Gity of Yashar has named Haredi conscription "a toppriority."[110] Similarly, the issue of Haredi conscription is considered a "central question" in the campaign of Yesh Atid and its leader Yair Lapid.[111] Eisenkot 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 7 October attacks.[112]
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.[101] After forming the Together joint list with Lapid in April 2026, Bennett reiterated his platform of establishing term limits for the post of prime minister.[85]
Controversies
AI videos
Netanyahu posted an AI-generated ad to his social media that appeared to show Eisenkot bypassing a person wearing a shirt that said "Israeli unity" to instead embrace Ra'am head Mansour Abbas; it was claimed by journalists Guy Peleg and Barak Seri that the person with the shirt was meant to allude to Eisenkot's dead son, which was denied by the Likud.[113]
The chair of the Central Elections Committee, Noam Sohlberg, ordered the Religious Zionist Party on 26 July 2026 to remove an AI-generated campaign video, which appeared to show someone resembling Eisenkot meeting with Mansour Abbas and Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas, on the grounds that it could be "misleading to voters."[114]
Later that month, Jonatan Urich, a campaign advisor for Netanyahu, removed an AI-generated video after Yashar threatened to file a lawsuit over it.[115]
Hadash candidate harassment claims
Hadash candidate Jafar Farah, who was placed fourth on the Joint List, had various sexual harassment claims raised against him.[116] Farah withdrew from the election on 4 September 2026.[117]
Shas campaign video
Shas released a campaign video in August, portraying a religious family on Shabbat, waiting for their son, who serves in the IDF, to arrive home for dinner. Notably, the party has supported legislation that would allow draft exemptions for Ultra-Orthodox men.[118] Yashar issued a formal complaint over the video, criticising the use of IDF imagery in the video. CEC head Solhberg called for the removal of the video. Shas did not remove the video at first, though it later removed the video the same day and criticised Sohlberg.[119]
Yashar campaign in Cyprus
Yashar launched a billboard campaign in Cyprus, targeting Israelis who were vacationing abroad.[120] Cypriot Member of the European Parliament Fidias Panayiotou was highly critical of the campaign.[121] Several days later, an image showing one of the billboards being vandalised circulated,[122] though it was later reported to be an AI-generated image.[123]
Political parties
Factions before the election
The following table displays the composition of the 25th Knesset at 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 | The Democrats[g] | Yair Golan (of party) Efrat Rayten (of faction) |
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.
| Party | Name | Year first elected | Date announced | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democrats[h] | Merav Michaeli | 2013 | 7 December 2023[124] | |
| Hadash–Ta'al | Ayman Odeh | 2015 | 16 May 2023[125] | |
| Aida Touma-Suleiman | 2015 | 16 May 2026[126][i] | ||
| Likud | Galit Distel-Atbaryan | 2021 | 25 May 2026[127] | |
| Eliyahu Revivo | 2022 | 13 August 2026[128] | ||
| Otzma Yehudit | Zvika Fogel | 2022 | 6 September 2026[129] | |
| Religious Zionist | Ofir Sofer | 2019 | 15 July 2026[130] | |
| Moshe Solomon | 2022 | 16 July 2026[131] | ||
| Shas | Ya'akov Margi | 2003 | 24 May 2026[132] | |
| United Torah Judaism | Moshe Gafni | 1988 | 5 September 2026[133] | |
| Uri Maklev | 2008[j] | 5 September 2026[133] | ||
| Yesh Atid[k] | Meir Cohen | 2013 | 31 August 2026[134] | |
| Mickey Levy | 2013 | 31 August 2026[135] | ||
| Debbie Biton | 2022 | 1 September 2026[136] | ||
| Tania Mazarsky | 2021 | 1 September 2026[137] | ||
| Karine Elharrar | 2013 | 3 September 2026[138] | ||
| Michal Shir | 2019 | 4 September 2026[139] | ||
| Yisrael Beitenu | Sharon Nir | 2022 | 29 August 2026[140] | |
Other declared parties
The following parties and alliances, outside of the ones that ran in the 2022 elections and plan to do so in 2026, have announced their intention to contest.
- Achi: The new Haredi party is seeking to create a broad Sephardi base.[141] Several Shas members have joined the party.[142]
- A Place for Us All: The leaders of Standing Together launched a new joint "Arab-Jewish party" on 16 June 2026.[143] The party is formally "independent" from the movement.[144]
- A Whole and Strong Jewish Israel: The party, founded by far right activists Michael Ben-Ari and Baruch Marzel, was initially barred by the Registrar of Political Parties following a recommendation from the Shin Bet, though new Shin Bet head David Zini called for a re-evaluation of the decision.[145]
- Black Ink: Motti Babchik met with Haredi activists in August 2026 to discuss forming a new party which would oppose the drafting of Haredi students into the IDF.[146] It is linked to the Jerusalem Faction.[147]
- Brotherhood Alliance: Wajdi Sarhan, a former commander of the IDF, launched a new Druze party on 4 May 2026.[148]
- Hakahal, meaning The Public, is a new Ultra-Orthodox party.[141]
- Haredi Public: The party is headed by Beit Shemesh Deputy Mayor Moti Leitner.[149][141]
- Israel First: Sharren Haskel, the former deputy foreign minister, founded the Israel First party in July 2026, a day after resigning from the government.[150] She called for the formation of a "broad Zionist government" several days later.[151] Jonathan Pollard joined the party's slate on 23 August.[152]
- New Economic Party: Yaron Zelekha announced in October 2025 that the party was preparing for the election.[153] Yoaz Hendel allied with the party after Zionist Home – The Reservists split up in early September.[154]
- Orot Hashachar: Nissim Louk, the father of 7 October attacks victim Shani Louk, and Jonathan Pollard launched this party in 2026,[155] though Pollard later dropped his bid with the party.[156]
Withdrawals
- Amir Avivi was working towards establishing a new party, The Security Zionists, which would have focused on attracting voters from the centre-right. The people involved with the nascent party decided in early September against moving forward with the plan, despite the significant investment, as it was believed that having too many parties running would have made it difficult for the right wing to win the election.[157]
- The Zionist Home – The Reservists alliance split on 5 September, with Hili Tropper joining Yashar, while Yoaz Hendel allied with the New Economic Party.[159] Hendel and Tropper emphasized in a joint statement that they would continue working together, even if they are not part of the same party.[160]
- Ayelet Shaked: 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.[161] The founders outlined the goals of the party as: reviving religious Zionism as a unifying force, create an alliance between various Zionist sectors and Haredi society, and establish a governing coalition with parties that self-identify as Zionist.[162] By June, religious and community figures, including Rabbi Benny Kalmanson, began reaching out to figures like Yuli Edelstein and former justice minister Ayelet Shaked to gauge interest in a party targeting dissatisfied modern Orthodox and right-wing voters.[163][164][165][166] On 20 July, Edelstein and Shaked met with Benny Gantz and Dedi Simchi to discuss a potential alliance between them at Edelstein's home.[167] The group reportedly met on three separate occasions in two weeks to discuss a possible unity slate, although they were unable to reach an agreement due to conflicting views over leadership in this merger.[168] Edelstein and Shaked also met with Yoaz Hendel to discuss potential cooperation.[169] Shaked announced on 6 September that she would not run in the election, saying that she did not see a path for a "broad, cross-bloc government."[170]
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.[171]
The Democrats
Following Labor's poor electoral performance in the 2022 Israeli legislative election, in which it won the minimum seats needed for entry into the Knesset and Meretz failed to cross the electoral threshold,[172] party chair Merav Michaeli announced in December 2023 that she planned to resign.[173] Yair Golan won a landslide victory in Labor's May 2024 leadership primary election on a platform promising to unify the political left.[174] 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.[175] The new party approved the merger in May 2026.[176] The Democrats held a digital primary on 20 July 2026, with 97,000 of its 112,000 registered members casting ballots, an 86 per cent turnout.[177] Party leader Golan secured the top spot on the list, followed by serving MKs Naama Lazimi, Gilad Kariv, and Efrat Rayten.[178]
Hadash
Hadash closed its primary nominations on 14 May; the parties committee, known as the National Council, was allowed to cast ballots.[179] 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.[126] It was the first party to select its electoral slate before the election.[180] The Hadash list includes Jabareen, Jafar Farah, Ofer Cassif, Youssef Atauna and Nihaya Wishahy.[181]
Likud
Likud formalized an agreement in August 2025 for the New Hope party to merge into it ahead of the next election.[182] The merger has not been approved by the Knesset House Committee as of July 2026.[183]
Following multiple legal battles and postponements, the party's primary elections were rescheduled from 4 to 17 August 2026.[184] The internal race has been marked by disputes over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's push to expand reserved slots, alongside a party court ruling that barred incumbent lawmakers and ministers from running in regional district spots.[185]
Ra'am
The Ra'am party announced in late July 2026 that it would hold its first independent primary on 22 August.[186] The party's list includes Mansour Abbas, Walid Taha, Waleed Alhwashla, Iman Khatib-Yasin (in the reserved woman's slot) and Yasser Hujirat.[187]
Religious Zionist Party
The Religious Zionist Party re-elected party leader Bezalel Smotrich in September 2025.[188] In July 2026, the party held primaries to determine its electoral slate for the upcoming election,[189] with 130 members of the parties' Central Committee voting to select candidates.[190] Smotrich retained his position at the head of the list, followed by incumbent lawmakers Orit Strook, Simcha Rothman, Zvi Sukkot, and Ohad Tal.[191] The final list remains subject to adjustments, as Smotrich retains the authority to appoint two reserved seats, including an expected spot for Tzvika Mor.[192]
The Reservists
Yoaz Hendel was elected head of the The Reservists party on 9 June.[193] A week later, the party held their primaries.[194]
Electoral negotiations and exploratory talks
Gantz-led alliance
Beginning in April 2026, Gantz held negotiations with Yoaz Hendel from The Reservists over a merger,[195] with some talks also including Yaron Zelekha from the New Economic Party.[196] By June, these negotiations also included former Fire and Rescue Commissioner Dedi Simchi.[37] Gantz's talks with Simchi were successful and they formed an alliance by late June.[39] A ynet article from August indicated that negotiations between Gantz and Simchi had reached a stalemate.[197] Discussions with Hendel stalled primarily due to disagreements over inclusion of Haredi parties, with Hendel remaining stauchly opposed.[198] Talks with Hendel collapsed by early July, and Hendel decided instead to form a separate joint list with Hili Tropper called "Zionist Home – The Reservists".[199] The following month, Channel 12 journalist Amit Segal reported that Gantz was negotiating with Ayelet Shaked over a possible joint list.[200]
On 26 August, it was reported that Gantz was in reported talks with Gilad Erdan, the leader of the Unity party, to form an electoral alliance between their two parties, as well as continued negotiations with Shaked to bring her into the proposed alliance, as well.[201] Erdan confirmed the talks the following day.[202]
Otzma Yehudit and Religious Zionist Party
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proposed an alliance in August between Otzma Yehudit and the Religious Zionist Party, which Otzma head Itamar Ben-Gvir strongly opposed. Polling by Otzma indicated that a merger would weaken that party, while Amcha Yisrael, a new party headed by Ofer Winter, would benefit.[203] Netanyahu called for a meeting of the two parties, which Ben-Gvir dismissed. Likud, in response, accused Ben-Gvir of wanting to "burn tens of thousands of right-wing votes."[204]
The two parties had previously agreed to run together in the 2022 Israeli legislative election, after Netanyahu brokered a similar agreement between the two, which resulted in the joint list winning 14 seats.[205]
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.[206][207][208] 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.[209] Lieberman also issued policy guidelines for a post-Netanyahu coalition.[210][211] Broader attempts at a unified multi-party alliance, particularly involving Naftali Bennett, Eisenkot, and Lapid,[212] faced friction over leadership positioning.[213] Ultimately, Bennett and Lapid reached an agreement to run on a Bennett-led joint electoral list named Together in April 2026.[214]
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 7 seats mentioned here belong to the Religious Zionist Party.
- The Democrats' members sit in the 25th Knesset as members of the Israeli Labor Party.[2]
- Although the Israeli Labor Party and Meretz (which was not represented in the Knesset) 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]
- Michaeli was elected to the Knesset as a member of the Israeli Labor Party.
- No official announcement was made. Suleiman did not seek re-nomination at her party's primary conference, held 16 May 2026.
