Israel holds first election since October 7 attack as Netanyahu faces tight race

On October 27, 2026, Israel held its first general election since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced a tight political battle for survival against former military chief Gadi Eisenkot. The election focused on accountability for security failures, military conscription exemptions for ultra-Orthodox Jews, and Netanyahu's International Criminal Court war crimes charges. With no single party positioned to capture an outright 61-seat Knesset majority, weeks of coalition building or potential political stalemate lie ahead.

Israeli parliamentary election

• ▪Approximately 7.3 million Israeli citizens were eligible to vote in the October 27, 2026 Knesset election, including around 330,000 first-time voters
• ▪Polling stations across Israel opened at 7:00 a.m. local time and closed at 10:00 p.m. local time on October 27, 2026
• ▪Israel held its first general election since the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel on Tuesday, October 27, 2026
• ▪Parties contesting the October 27, 2026 Israeli Knesset election must pass an electoral threshold of 3.25 percent of the vote to earn seats in the 120-seat parliament

Netanyahu political survival

• ▪Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu campaigned on his wartime military leadership, his close alliance with U.S. President Donald Trump, and confronting the Iranian government
• ▪Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remained on trial for bribery, fraud, and breach of trust corruption charges during the October 27, 2026 election
• ▪Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, seeking to extend over 19 years in office, faced a close race in the October 27, 2026 election while trailing or running neck-and-neck in opinion polls

Gadi Eisenkot candidacy

• ▪Gadi Eisenkot, whose son Gal was killed fighting in Gaza during the war, presented himself as an institutional alternative opposed to violent Israeli West Bank settlers
• ▪Former military chief Gadi Eisenkot led the new center-right Yashar party in the October 27, 2026 Israeli election as the principal challenger to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
• ▪Gadi Eisenkot pledged not to join a government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and campaigned for an independent judiciary and expanded military conscription for ultra-Orthodox Jews

October 7 attack accountability

• ▪The Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023 resulted in the deaths of approximately 1,200 people in Israel and the abduction of 251 hostages into Gaza
• ▪Opponents of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and families of attack victims called for an independent state commission of inquiry into the political and security failures surrounding the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack
• ▪Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu resisted calls from victims' families for an independent state commission of inquiry into October 7, 2023, while attempting to shift blame onto Israel's security establishment

Coalition formation process

• ▪To form a governing coalition following the October 27, 2026 election, a political alliance must secure a majority of at least 61 seats in Israel's 120-seat Knesset
• ▪Predominantly Arab political parties, representing roughly 20 percent of Israel's population, expressed willingness to back an opposition minority government from outside a coalition to remove Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
• ▪If neither Benjamin Netanyahu nor Gadi Eisenkot can assemble a 61-seat parliamentary majority, Netanyahu could remain as caretaker prime minister ahead of repeat elections

International Criminal Court charges

• ▪Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vehemently rejected allegations of genocide and war crimes raised by international bodies and the International Criminal Court regarding military operations in Gaza
• ▪Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court over alleged war crimes during the military offensive in Gaza