Legislative elections are scheduled to be held in Israel on 27 October 2026, to elect all 120 members of the 26th Knesset and determine the governing coalition that succeeds the 37th government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The outgoing 25th Knesset became the first Israeli legislature to complete its full four-year term without early dissolution since 1988, ending the prolonged political crisis of 2018–2022 that saw five consecutive snap elections. However, the government's tenure was marked by political turmoil, including mass protests over judicial reform, the 7 October attacks and subsequent Gaza war, and recurring coalition crises over Haredi military conscription.
In this proportional representation system, parties must meet a 3.25% electoral threshold to enter the legislature.
Background
After the 36th government lost its majority, snap elections were called in 2022. They resulted in Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc gaining a majority, and a government was successfully negotiated between Likud, Otzma Yehudit, Noam, Religious Zionist Party, United Torah Judaism, and Shas. The coalition was sworn in on 29 December 2022.
In January 2023, the 37th government announced a package of proposed judicial reforms that would have significantly changed the balance of power between the judiciary and the executive and legislative branches. The proposals triggered one of the largest protest movements in Israeli history, with weekly demonstrations taking place across the country for several months. Following mass protests, a nationwide general strike, and growing opposition from business leaders, military reservists and civil society organizations, Netanyahu announced in March 2023 that the legislative process would be suspended to allow negotiations with the opposition.
Negotiations later broke down, and the coalition resumed advancing parts of the reform. In July 2023, the Knesset approved an amendment to Basic Law: The Judiciary preventing courts from applying the "reasonableness" standard to decisions of the government and its ministers. On 1 January 2024, the Supreme Court, sitting as the High Court of Justice, ruled by an 8–7 majority that the amendment was unconstitutional and struck it down.
Following the October 7 attacks, the opposition party National Unity joined the government to form an emergency national unity coalition, with Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot joining the newly formed war cabinet. While the emergency coalition provided short-term stability, Netanyahu's government simultaneously faced sustained public and political pressure to resign and call for early elections. The emergency coalition eventually fractured, with Gideon Sa'ar's New Hope faction splitting from National Unity and resigning from the government in March 2024 before rejoining in September and ultimately agreeing in 2025 to merge with Likud. The remaining National Unity alliance formally departed the government on 9 June 2024. Otzma Yehudit temporarily exited the coalition in January 2025 in protest of a Gaza ceasefire agreement, and rejoined in March following the agreement's collapse.
The coalition's stability was repeatedly tested by internal ideological fractures, most notably regarding the politically volatile issue of Haredi military conscription. The instability reached a critical phase in July 2025, when both factions of United Torah Judaism (Degel HaTorah and Agudat Yisrael) resigned from the government in protest over the stalled conscription legislation. Shortly after, Shas also withdrew its ministers from the government, further destabilizing the coalition. While these parties often returned to their posts or remained in the coalition to avoid toppling the government, the recurring threat of collapse became a constant feature of Netanyahu's premiership. These fractures persisted until May 2026, when legislative momentum for dissolution grew across the political spectrum. However, with the Knesset nearing the completion of its full four-year term, these efforts would have only moved the election date forward by a few weeks. Ultimately, the coalition managed these pressures.
Date and electoral schedule The Knesset formally dissolved on 17 July 2026. By completing its full four-year term, the 25th Knesset became the first Israeli legislature to serve its full duration without early dissolution since 1988, and the 37th government became the first to complete a full term since the 1973 election.
The candidate list submission deadline was 8 September, while the surplus-vote agreements deadline is 16 October.
Voting at diplomatic missions and embassies is scheduled to take place on 20 October, while election day in Israel is 27 October.
The official results will be confirmed on 4 November.
Electoral system
The 120 seats in the Knesset are elected by closed list proportional representation in a single nationwide constituency. The electoral threshold for the election is 3.25%.
Expatriate voting and eligibility dispute Because Israeli law does not permit absentee voting at embassies for ordinary citizens, participation requires physical travel. Ahead of the vote, more than 33,000 expatriates registered with the nonpartisan Fly&Vote initiative, drawing threats of legal action from Prime Minister Netanyahu over concerns they would lean opposition. Separately, a High Court petition by some 100 expats, removed from voter registries under the Interior Ministry's "Code 51" non-resident designation, was unanimously dismissed on procedural grounds on 2 September 2026.
Surplus-vote agreements Two parties can sign a surplus-vote agreement that allows them to compete for leftover seats as if they were running together on the same list. The Bader–Ofer (D'Hondt) method slightly favours larger lists, meaning that alliances are more likely to receive leftover seats than parties would be individually. If the alliance receives leftover seats, the Bader–Ofer calculation is applied again, to determine how the seats are divided among the two allied lists.
The following parties signed surplus vote-sharing agreements for the 2026 election: Together and Yisrael Beiteinu Yashar and The Democrats Joint List and Ra'am
Political parties
Factions before the election
The following table displays the composition of the 25th Knesset at its dissolution on 17 July 2026: FactionPartyLeaderMembersStatusLikudLikudYesh AtidYesh AtidShasShasNational UnityBlue and WhiteOtzma YehuditOtzma YehuditUnited Torah JudaismDegel HaTorahAgudat YisraelReligious Zionist PartyReligious Zionist PartyYisrael BeiteinuYisrael BeiteinuRa'amRa'amHadash–Ta'alHadashTa'alLaborThe DemocratsYair Golan (of party)Efrat Rayten (of faction)New HopeNew HopeNoamNoam
Retiring incumbents The table below lists all members of the Knesset (MKs) who are not standing for re-election.
PartyNameYear first electedDate announcedBlue and WhiteYael Ron Ben-Moshe202026 August 2026Michael Biton20198 September 2026DemocratsMerav Michaeli20137 December 2023Hadash–Ta'alAyman Odeh201516 May 2023Aida Touma-Suleiman201516 May 2026Samir Bin Said20258 September 2026New HopeMichel Buskila20228 September 2026Akram Hasson20128 September 2026LikudGalit Distel-Atbaryan202125 May 2026Eliyahu Revivo202213 August 2026Moshe Passal202313 August 2026Tsega Melaku202314 August 2026Yuli Edelstein19964 September 2026Eli Dellal20228 September 2026Nissim Vaturi20208 September 2026Otzma YehuditZvika Fogel20226 September 2026Religious ZionistOfir Sofer201915 July 2026Moshe Solomon202216 July 2026Michal Waldiger20218 September 2026ShasYa'akov Margi200324 May 2026United Torah JudaismMoshe Gafni19885 September 2026Uri Maklev20085 September 2026Yesh Atid Yaron Levi20234 May 2026Meir Cohen201331 August 2026Mickey Levy201331 August 2026Debbie Biton20221 September 2026Tania Mazarsky20211 September 2026Karine Elharrar20133 September 2026Michal Shir20194 September 2026Yisrael BeitenuSharon Nir202229 August 2026
Submitted parties
38 parties submitted lists.
Ahi Movement Amcha Yisrael Ani VeAta The Biblical Bloc The Color Black, Guarding the World of Torah Blue and White The Democrats Dawn’s Light, a Party for Everyone Eternal Covenant Fixing the Electoral and Governing System Garden of Eden Hakahal Party Haredi Public The House of Israel Junction Israel First Joint List Just Law Likud New Order Noam Otzma Yehudit Partnership for Everyone Personal Security Pirate Party of Israel Redemption Religious Zionist Party and Zehut The Reservists and the Economic Party Sharshar for Love and Unity of the People Shas Shema Social Security Together Together We Will Succeed Ra'am United Torah Judaism Women's Voice Yashar Yisrael Beiteinu
Public expression of interest The following parties, which did not have representation in the Knesset prior to the 2026 election, expressed interest but chose not to contest it:
A Whole and Strong Jewish Israel: The party, founded by far right activists Michael Ben-Ari and Baruch Marzel, was initially barred by the Registrar of Political Parties following a recommendation from the Shin Bet, though new Shin Bet head David Zini called for a re-evaluation of the decision. Originally, it was allied with Zehut.
Amir Avivi was working towards establishing a new party, The Security Zionists, which would have focused on attracting voters from the centre-right. The people involved with the nascent party decided in early September against moving forward with the plan, despite the significant investment, as it was believed that having too many parties running would have made it difficult for the right wing to win the election.
Unity dropped out on 4 September 2026.
The Zionist Home – The Reservists alliance split on 5 September, with Hili Tropper joining Yashar, while Yoaz Hendel allied with the New Economic Party. Hendel and Tropper emphasized in a joint statement that they would continue working together, even if they are not part of the same party.
The leaders of Standing Together launched an "Arab-Jewish party" on 16 June 2026 called A Place for Us All. The party is distinct from the movement. It decided not to submit a list on 8 September.
Wajdi Sarhan, a former commander of the IDF, launched a new Druze party called "Brotherhood Alliance" on 4 May 2026. The party did not submit a list to run in the election.
Electoral negotiations and exploratory talks Beginning in April 2026, Benny Gantz held negotiations with Yoaz Hendel from The Reservists over a merger, with some talks also including Yaron Zelekha from the New Economic Party. By June, they also included former Fire and Rescue Commissioner Dedi Simchi, which reportedly reached a stalemate in early August. Talks between Gantz and Hendel stalled over the possibility of a coalition with Haredi parties, which Hendel staunchly opposed, and talks collapsed by early July. Hendel partnered instead with Hili Tropper as "Foundations of Israel". Gantz later reportedly held talks with Ayelet Shaked for a potential alliance. Gilad Erdan of Unity also met with Tropper for negotiations, but the two differed in their willingness to coalition with The Democrats. By late August, Erdan also held later-confirmed talks with Gantz on an electoral alliance. In the final party list submission, two lists represented this "third bloc": Blue and White, and a joint list between Zelekha and Hendel.