2026 Israeli Elections

Ra’am, Joint List fight bids to bar them from Knesset election

Ra’am, the Joint List, Balad and two candidates asked the Central Elections Committee to reject six petitions seeking to bar them from the 2026 Knesset election.

Ra’am party chairman Mansour Abbas, together with party member Yoav Segalovich, arrives to submit the party list to the Central Elections Committee, Jerusalem, September 7, 2026; illustrative.
Traffic at the entrance to Jerusalem. August 09, 2026.

Intercity buses, Israel Railways to be free on election day, Central Elections Committee decides

The Orthodox Jewish group of Rosh Yehudi sets up a gender partition during a public prayer for Yom Kippur, on Dizengoff Square, Tel Aviv, September 24, 2023

Israel tore itself apart on Yom Kippur - then October 7 reminded us of our collective 'we'

National Security Minister and Otzma Yehudit party chairman Itamar Ben-Gvir, together with members of his party, arrives to submit the Otzma Yehudit party list to the Central Elections Committee ahead of the upcoming Israeli general elections at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, September 7, 2026.

Ben-Gvir says Netanyahu 'doesn’t exactly answer' his phone calls as relationship sours


Israeli polls split on 2026 Knesset election possibilities, as Yashar, Likud vie for primacy - poll

The bloc averages also show no clear outcome: Netanyahu’s bloc, including Winter, stands at 53.6 seats, compared with 53.4 for the Zionist opposition bloc.

Benjamin Netanyahu, Gadi Eisenkot, Naftali Bennett.

Network of 100 fake X accounts targeting Ofer Winter removed from social media platform

FakeReporter found that the accounts published hundreds of posts against Winter, with more than half being shared in a single hour.

Amcha Yisrael party chairman Ofer Winter speaks during a press conference in Tel Aviv, September 2, 2026.

Knesset speaker calls on Winter to withdraw from election, claims he is endangering right-wing bloc

“The greatest danger to the right is not the left, it is the right itself. In 1992, despite the fact that the right received more votes, the left formed a government,” Ohana claimed.

Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana attends a Likud party conference ahead of the party’s primary elections in the northern city of Haifa, August 16, 2026.

With Eisenkot, Israel can defeat Iran, ex-Mossad official and Yashar list member Bachar says

Now on Eisenkot’s list, she believes her party is well positioned to triumph in the October elections and “make Israel great again.”

Portrait of Yashar party member former Shin Bet and Mossad official Dvora Bachar with Yashar head Gadi Eisenkott, August 12, 2026.

Otzma Yehudit issues request for Ra'am, Abbas to be barred from 2026 Knesset elections

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, chairman of Otzma Yehudit, stated that Ra'am and Abbas were "wolves in sheep's clothing," and called them "Hamas-supporting terrorists."

Ra'am party head MK Mansour Abbas leads a faction meeting, at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, on June 29, 2026.

Right-wing activists protest Ofer Winter’s independent Knesset run with wreath outside his home

Activists accused People of Israel chairman Ofer Winter of weakening the right-wing bloc, while Winter defended his decision to run separately and back Benjamin Netanyahu.

Amcha Yisrael party chairman Ofer Winter speaks during a press conference in Tel Aviv, September 2, 2026.

Parties finalize Knesset slates before deadline as Gantz’s Blue and White runs alone despite polls

The deadline also means the end to speculation over possible mergers between parties that were polling below the electoral threshold.

Former IDF chief of staff Benny Gantz leads Blue and White, which is polling below the electoral threshold.

Eisenkot-led coalition has pathway to 61 seats without Arab parties for first time - poll

Additionally, Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition dropped by four seats to just 47.

Gadi Eisenkot, head of Yashar, is the main challenger to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the upcoming October election.

Likud submits final candidate list as Netanyahu warns 2026 election will decide Israel's future

Bithonistim chief Amir Avivi, disabled IDF reservist Elisha Medan, government attorney David Peter, and former Labor MK Eli Goldschmidt also joined Likud ahead of the October election.

A man takes a selfie with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during Likud party primary elections ahead of Israel’s general election in October, in Jerusalem, Monday, August. 17, 2026.

Ofer Winter rejects Goldknopf's demand for universal yeshiva student IDF draft exemption

Winter also called for Goldknopf to stop "deceiving the public," saying that "this system harms first and foremost the true Torah students."

Amcha Yisrael party chairman Ofer Winter speaks during a press conference in Tel Aviv, September 2, 2026.