Interactive guide: the parties running in Israel's election

Israelis are set to go to polls to elect the members of the next Knesset on April 9, 2019.

On this page, the JC looks at the main contender parties that could form next Israel's next coalition government.

The magic numbers

There are 120 seats in the Knesset, which means a coalition will need at least 61 votes to form the next Israeli government.

Pick a party and scroll down to read more

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Labour

Projection: 7 seats

Avi Gabbay’s surprise decision to dissolve his Zionist Union alliance with former foreign minister Tzipi Livni was seen as an attempt to invigorate a party that has long been languishing in the opinion polls. It did not work. Despite a lively primary season that saw youthful candidates chosen to prominent spots, the number of Labour seats in the next Knesset may not reach double figures — which would be the worst result in the Grand Old Party’s history.

Blue & White

Projection: 35 seats

Combines: Israel Resilience, Yesh Atid, Telem

Its leader has been in politics for barely two months but former IDF chief of staff Benny Gantz is in a dead head with Benjamin Netanyahu. His alliance combines his Israel Resilience Party with two other former IDF generals, Moshe Yaalon and Gabi Ashkenazi, and Yair Lapid’s centrist Yesh Atid. Many polls suggest Blue & White could win more seats than any other faction in the Knesset; whether it can form a coalition is another matter.

Likud

Projection: 30 seats

The modern mainstay of Israeli politics attracts the sympathy, if not necessarily the vote, of most right-wingers in Israel and remains likeliest to form the next government. Whether Benjamin Netanyahu will lead it depends on how voters and his party respond to his widely-expected indictment on bribery and corruption charges. There is every reason to believe this could be Bibi’s final term as prime minister — but the golden rule of Israeli politics is never to write him off.

The New Right

Projection: 6 seats

The party launched by Education Minister Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked, the Justice Minister, after they resigned from Jewish Home late last year. They hope they will appeal to centre-right voters disillusioned by Likud under Mr Netanyahu but are competing in a crowded field.

Yisrael Beiteinu

Projection: 4 seats

Avigdor Lieberman’s dramatic resignation as defence minister, criticising the government’s Gaza policy last year, almost toppled Mr Netanyahu from power but did not produce the poll boost expected. Yisrael Beiteinu is at risk of falling below the electoral threshold.

Arab parties

Projection: 12 seats

List 1: Hadash, United Arab List
List 2: Balad, Ta'al

Israel’s Arab parties represent a disparate range of views from socialism to Islamism, with many shades in between. The four main parties united under a Joint List ahead of the last election and were rewarded by becoming the third-largest faction in the Knesset. This time, disagreements over the candidate list meant the alliance has divided in two: Balad and Ta’al have gone one way; Hadash and the United Arab List another.

Meretz

Projection: 4 seats

The Israeli left party is a long way from the heady days of the 1990s, when it held 12 seats, but leader Tamar Zandberg is confident of winning enough votes to enter the Knesset again. She said this week her party would support Benny Gantz in a future government.

United Right List

Projection: 7 seats

Combines: Jewish Home, Tkuma, Jewish Power

A union of pro-settler and far-right parties created after Benjamin Netanyahu guaranteed it two cabinet positions if he becomes prime minister again. The alliance has been criticised both in Israel and abroad for the inclusion of the Jewish Power, a party composed of supporters of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane, which detractors say is a racist, Jewish supremacist movement.

Shas

Projection: 6 seats

A Strictly Orthodox party that has been in governing coalitions led either by Likud or Labour for most of the past 30 years. Leader Aryeh Deri's photograph appears alongside that of Mr Netanyahu's in campaign posters around Israel and it's very likely the party will sit alongside Likud once again.

United Torah Judaism

Projection: 8 seats

Combines: Degel HaTorah, Agudat Israel

This alliance of two Askhenazi Charedi parties in the Knesset is running again after talks for a joint list with Shas proved fruitless.

Key to likely loyalties

Closer to Benjamin Netanyahu

Closer to Benny Gantz

Other parties

Smaller parties

The centrist Kulanu led by Moshe Kahlon (pictured) and Orly Levy’s Gesher, both prominent parties, are at significant risk of winning less than 3.25 per cent of the vote, meaning they would have no seats in the Knesset. The small liberatarian Zehut is also running. The threshold persuaded Hatnuah leader Tzipi Livni to sit this election out.