Overview
- Voting took place Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026, with the Central Elections Committee reporting unusually high early participation and turnout figures not seen in decades.
- An estimated 67,000–70,000 Israeli expatriates flew back to cast ballots, swelling turnout and creating uncertainty about which bloc can claim the most seats.
- Opinion polls and on‑the‑day coverage showed a neck‑and‑neck contest between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former IDF chief Gadi Eisenkot with no single party expected to reach the 61‑seat majority.
- The likely deadlock means coalition bargaining will decide who governs, a process that could last weeks and leave the incumbent as a caretaker with continuing authority over defence and foreign policy.
- Core campaign issues shaping the vote included calls for an independent inquiry into the Oct. 7, 2023 security failures, ongoing multi‑front wars, Arab‑Israeli turnout that could make Arab lists kingmakers, and disputes over ultra‑Orthodox conscription and judicial changes.