Israeli elections

Israelis pass by campaign posters featuring Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Yashar Party leader, Gadi Eisenkot, near a polling station during Israel's general elections on October 27, 2026 in Hadera, Israel.

Breaking | Last Updated: October 27, 2026, 5:49 pm

Israel exit polls show Netanyahu, Eisenkot short of majority as Arab parties surge

Likud is projected to emerge as the largest party, but neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc nor the opposition appears able to secure a parliamentary majority.

Tents sheltering Palestinians displaced by the Hamas-Israeli war are pitched between the rubble of destroyed buildings in the Jabalia camp, northern Gaza Strip, Oct. 20, 2026.

Analysis

What Israel's election could mean for Palestinians in Gaza, West Bank

The ouster of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could provide Palestinians some relief, but is unlikely to improve their prospects for statehood.

By Rosaleen Carroll

In Washington, DC, US, reporting on the Middle East

ADORA, WEST BANK - OCTOBER 27: Israeli children ride a bicycle and a scooter past an election campaign stand of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party on October 27, 2026 in the Israeli settlement of Adora, West Bank. Voting is underway to choose 120 members of the Knesset, which will determine the make-up of the government that succeeds incumbent Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing coalition. Around 500,000 Israeli settlers living in the occupied West Bank and are entitled to ca

Live Updates

Israel sees record voter turnout as Netanyahu faces crucial test

For the first time since the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack, Israelis are heading to the polls in elections widely seen as crucial to the country’s future.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan receives Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Turkish House in New York, on Sept. 19, 2023.

Analysis

What’s at stake for Turkey as Israel heads to the polls?

Israel’s Oct. 27 election could offer a chance to ease tensions with Ankara, but competing ambitions in Syria and beyond threaten to push the two US allies toward a dangerous confrontation.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Latest News

Explainer

Netanyahu victory or another vote? 5 scenarios for Israel’s election

A bus bearing a campaign poster featuring Israeli Prime Minister and Likud party chairman Benjamin Netanyahu alongside US President Donald Trump drives through Jerusalem on October 26, 2026, on the eve of Israel's legislative elections. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

How Israel’s elections could bring thaw with Syria

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrives for the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly gathering, UN Headquarters, New York, Sept. 22, 2026.

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Analysis

Corruption trial, ICC warrant: Why Netanyahu will stay in politics even if he loses

A print house worker produces a campaign poster showing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Mazal Mualem

By Mazal Mualem

In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics

What Netanyahu win or loss could mean for Israel’s economy

a large billboard featuring Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Is Netanyahu’s election campaign on the way to war?

Benjamin Netanyahu claimed in 2008 that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had no moral authority to launch peace talks in Palestinians, so he should now implement the same rule on himself and avoid generating a war.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the Cybertech 2019 conference in Tel Aviv, Israel January 29, 2019. REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RC11BC898700

Intel: How Netanyahu’s indictment is scrambling Israeli politics a month before elections

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to the media as he attends the weekly cabinet meeting at his office in Jerusalem February 24, 2019. Abir Sultan/Pool via REUTERS - RC196ADBF2C0

Netanyahu goes it alone

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has completely excluded Likud ministers from the party’s election campaign, choosing to stand alone even as he stands to be indicted for corruption.

Israel's radical right uncorked

Now that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has granted legitimacy to the Kahanist Otzma Yehudit, its members have not missed an opportunity to disseminate their racist ideology, including in the nation's schools and television stations.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hold a bilateral meeting during the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., September 26, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Barria - RC1720F3A620

Is Netanyahu coordinating with Trump over 'deal of the century’?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hopes that publication of the US Mideast peace deal just after the elections would attract public attention away from an imminent indictment against him.

Avi Gabbai, the new leader of Israel's centre-left Labour party, delivers his victory speech after winning the Labour party primary runoff, at an event in Tel Aviv, Israel July 10, 2017. REUTERS/Amir Cohen TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC1ABB63EDA0

Labor Party recalculates strategy ahead of Israeli elections

Paradoxically, the threat of the new Blue and White party in Israel has pushed the Labor Party into featuring sharper messages on diplomatic affairs and a clearer agenda.

Netanyahu’s radical-right alliance rattles AIPAC's allegiance

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu underestimated the objection of the pro-Israeli lobbying group AIPAC to his alliance with the radical-right ahead of elections in Israel.

Could new Israeli party topple Netanyahu’s Likud?

For the first time in years, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is confronted with polls that place his Likud party second and not first.

Newly allied Israeli centrist politicians, Benny Gantz (L) a former armed forces chief of staff, and Yair Lapid, deliver a joint statement in the coastal city of Tel Aviv on February 21, 2019, ahead of the April 9 general election. - The two main challengers to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced an electoral alliance today, posing a threat to the premier's long tenure in office as he also faces potential corruption charges. (Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP) (Photo credit should read JACK GU

Intel: How center-left coalition has thrown Netanyahu’s re-election in doubt

Former Israeli army chief Benny Gantz and centrist leader Yair Lapid have upended Israel’s upcoming elections with their decision today to join forces against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Netanyahu’s dance with anti-Semitism

A comment on anti-Semitism in Poland by acting Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz has inadvertently exposed the hypocrisy of Israel’s right-wing government.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem February 17, 2019. Sebastian Scheiner/Pool via REUTERS *** Local Caption *** - RC1F7CF03220

Intel: How the Palestinians are trying to take Netanyahu down via Israeli elections

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ weekend meeting with Nazareth Mayor Ali Salem is widely seen as a desperate gambit, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears to coast to re-election on a security platform while Israeli peacemakers fade from the scene.

How an Australia extradition case threatens Netanyahu

The alleged involvement of Deputy Health Minister Yaakov Litzman in attempts to prevent the extradition to Australia of an ultra-Orthodox woman suspected of serious sexual crimes, threatens the political clout of Benjamin Netanyahu's ultra-Orthodox coalition partners.