Coalition confirms date for 2026 Israeli elections

Under Israeli law, elections were due to be held by late October, although earlier efforts to dissolve the Knesset and force a snap vote had fuelled speculation that the timetable could change.

The election will be the first since Hamas's October 7, 2023, attack and the subsequent conflicts in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran, which have transformed Israel's political landscape and raised fresh questions about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's leadership.

Netanyahu returned to power in late 2022 at the head of Israel's most right-wing government, but opinion polls suggest his coalition of nationalist and religious parties faces a difficult battle for re-election.

Surveys indicate that opposition parties could emerge as the largest bloc, although no clear alternative coalition has yet taken shape.

Former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot has emerged as one of Netanyahu's principal challengers, with recent polls showing his centrist Yashar party running neck-and-neck with Likud.

The new joint party led by former prime ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid also looks set to command a large number of Knesset seats, per the latest polls. 

The campaign is expected to focus heavily on security, the future of Gaza, and the long-running dispute over the military conscription of Charedi men, one of the most divisive issues among Israelis today as the army remains 12-15,000 men short.

For Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, the election will represent another test of his political resilience after a period that has left the country deeply divided and reshaped its domestic and international standing.

This story originally appeared in the JC Israel Briefing. You can sign up to receive the briefing daily here.