Israel Heads to the Polls in Three Days — Netanyahu's Future on the Line
With elections set for October 27, Israel enters its final campaign days in the most consequential vote since the October 7 Hamas attacks, with neither major bloc polling above the 61-seat majority needed to govern.
As Israel's election day on October 27, 2026 approached, the country entered its final days of campaigning in what analysts described as the most seismic vote in decades. The race pits Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party, polling at 19 to 21 seats, against former army chief Gadi Eisenkot's newly formed Yashar party, projected at 20 to 23 seats. Neither of the two main blocs — the right-wing Netanyahu camp or the 'change' opposition — is polling above the 61-seat threshold required for a majority in the 120-seat Knesset, making Arab-led and smaller centrist parties potential kingmakers. Key campaign issues include accountability for the October 7 Hamas attack, Netanyahu's ongoing corruption trial, the military draft exemption for ultra-Orthodox Jews, and the management of the ongoing conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon. The election is the first since 1988 to run a full parliamentary term. About 7.3 million Israelis are eligible to vote across 38 competing parties, with roughly 11 expected to clear the 3.25 per cent threshold to enter parliament. President Isaac Herzog will have seven days after the vote to decide which party leader receives the first mandate to form a government.
