2026

The elections for the 26th Knesset are the first to be held on schedule since 1988. Nevertheless, the 25th Knesset’s term will be remembered as one of the most turbulent, bloody, and polarizing periods in the history of the State of Israel, due to two ongoing events: the coalition’s legislative initiatives, foremost among them the initiative dubbed by its supporters the “judicial reform” and by its opponents a “judicial overhaul,” and the October 7 massacre and the wars that erupted in its aftermath.

Ahead of the elections, several political alliances have taken shape. The two leaders of the “government of change” (Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid) have announced that they will run on a joint list (“Together”); the Labor Party and Meretz have joined forces in a common political framework, “The Democrats”; and Hadash, Balad, and Ta’al will run together under "the Joint List.” On the right, Religious Zionism will run on a joint list with Moshe Feiglin’s Zehut party. Overall, 36 lists contested the elections, of which 11 passed the electoral threshold and were elected to the Knesset.

Voter turnout was the highest since 1999, with no less than 78% of eligible voters casting their ballots. The election results placed Likud as the largest party, although it lost 5 seats compared with the 2022 elections, while the combined strength of the outgoing coalition parties fell to just 53 seats. The Yashar party, led by former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, won 21 seats, while Beyachad won 12 seats. The two Arab lists achieved an unprecedented combined result of 19 seats, with 11 going to the Joint List and 8 to Ra'am. Overall, the six lists that opposed Netanyahu's government secured 67 seats.

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