Israelis went to the polls Tuesday in the country’s first national election since the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023 and the wars that followed in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran. Voting was scheduled to close at 10 p.m. local time on October 27. Provisional results were expected only after polls closed and official counting data began to appear.
The central question is whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can remain in office after one of the most consequential periods in Israel’s history. Netanyahu leads the Likud party and a bloc that includes far-right and ultra-Orthodox parties. His rivals span the center, left and parts of the right, and they are united more by opposition to his continued leadership than by a single program on security, territory or the future of relations with Palestinians.
Reuters identified the principal opposition forces as Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar, Naftali Bennett’s Together alliance, Yair Golan’s Democrats and Avigdor Lieberman’s Israel Our Home. Smaller and unaligned parties could be decisive because Israel’s 120-seat Knesset is elected through proportional representation. A party or bloc must assemble support from at least 61 lawmakers to form a majority government.
Pre-election polling suggested neither Netanyahu’s alliance nor its rivals were certain to secure a decisive majority. That makes the vote count only the first stage. After results are finalized, party leaders may need days or weeks of coalition negotiations. Small parties near the electoral threshold can change the arithmetic substantially by either entering parliament or having their votes excluded from the distribution of seats.
Security and the conduct of the post-2023 wars have dominated the political environment. Netanyahu’s current term also included a divisive effort to reduce the power of the Supreme Court and a rapid expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank. His supporters present his experience and security posture as essential; opponents argue that the country needs accountability, institutional repair and a different strategy after prolonged war and international isolation.
The opposition itself contains major policy differences. Bennett has opposed Palestinian statehood, while Golan’s Democrats support a negotiated agreement with the Palestinians. Lieberman draws much of his support from the ex-Soviet immigrant community and has broken sharply with Netanyahu after once serving as an ally. Eisenkot, a former military chief who lost a son in Gaza, has campaigned on integrity, security and social cohesion.
Arab parties could also influence the outcome. Arab citizens make up about one-fifth of Israel’s population, and their parties want Netanyahu removed. Some opposition leaders have said they would not formally include Arab parties in a coalition, even though polling suggested that a minority government might need outside Arab support. Ultra-Orthodox parties face their own internal pressures over military-service exemptions for religious students.
Turnout and the electoral threshold will be closely watched because small movements can decide which parties receive seats. Votes cast for a party that fails to clear the threshold do not translate into representation, which can alter the balance between larger blocs even when their own vote shares change only modestly. Final certification may therefore produce a different political picture from early television projections.
Because voting was still underway when this report was prepared, no result or governing coalition should be inferred from exit polls, partial counts or online claims. The most reliable sequence is the official vote count, final seat allocation and coalition agreements. The result will matter beyond Israel, affecting regional diplomacy, the conduct and aftermath of war, relations with the United States and the prospects for any renewed Israeli-Palestinian political process.
Sources: Reuters election results and party guide. Reviewed October 27, 2026. Development: October 27, 2026.