Israel Votes: Netanyahu Faces Eisenkot as Polls Show No 61-Seat Majority

Israelis are voting today, Tuesday, October 27, 2026, in a general election for the 120-seat Knesset that pits Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's governing bloc against an opposition led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot. Polls opened at 7 a.m. local time and close at 10 p.m. (8 p.m. GMT), with 7,331,981 people eligible to vote at 12,018 regular polling stations, the Central Elections Committee said.

It is the first national election since the Hamas-led attack of October 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians. Many voters treat the race as a verdict on Netanyahu's leadership since that day, and the final polls suggest neither camp will reach the 61 seats needed to govern.

That points to a long coalition negotiation rather than a clear result tonight. Exit polls are due when voting ends, but official results will take several days.

Key facts at a glance

• Who can vote: 7,331,981 eligible voters, 12,018 regular polling stations and 36 party lists, according to the Central Elections Committee.
• Hours: 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. local time (5 a.m. to 8 p.m. GMT), with exit polls at closing and official results in the following days.
• Last poll: a final television poll released on Friday gave Netanyahu's bloc 50 seats, the opposition bloc 56 and Arab parties 16.
• Leading party: Eisenkot's Yashar party was projected at 22 seats, ahead of Netanyahu's Likud on 19, down from the 32 seats it holds now.
• Security: police said about 20,000 officers, Border Police and volunteers would be deployed across the country on election day.

How Israel got here

The outgoing Knesset was elected in 2022 and produced what is widely described as the most right-wing government in Israel's history. Netanyahu, now 76, has led Israel for 19 non-consecutive years. He is also on trial in three corruption cases, which are still ongoing; US President Donald Trump has called for a pardon and wrote to President Isaac Herzog on his behalf.

The three years since October 7 have been dominated by war. Israel fought a long campaign in Gaza, and this year it went to war with Iran alongside the United States, a conflict that disrupted energy markets worldwide. In the occupied West Bank, settler violence has surged, and several of Israel's traditional allies have announced plans for sanctions against violent settlers.

At home, the campaign has focused on a short list of issues. Party platforms and debates have centred on the army's manpower shortage after three years of fighting, military service for ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) men, who have long been exempt, and demands for a state commission of inquiry into the failures around the October 7 attack. Netanyahu has resisted an independent inquiry of that kind, and the opposition has made it a rallying point.

Palestinian statehood, once a central election question, has moved to the background. Most parties now oppose it.

A tight race with no clear majority

Neither bloc is projected to reach 61 seats. In the final television poll released on Friday, the opposition parties together came to 56 seats, five short of a majority. Most opposition leaders have pledged not to form a government that relies on the Arab parties, which were projected to win 16 seats combined. That pledge is the main reason the arithmetic is so hard.

Small parties could decide the outcome. A party needs 3.25% of valid votes to win any seats. Prof. Alex Weinreb of the Taub Center, an Israeli research institute, estimates that at 70% turnout, similar to 2022, that means 165,635 votes. Higher turnout raises the bar. Several new parties are fighting to clear it, including Ofer Winter's People of Israel party and Yoaz Hendel's Reservists party, and whether they get in could tip either bloc's coalition math.

The far right is expected to hold its ground. A poll published on October 16 forecast nine seats for Jewish Strength, the party of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, and eight for the Democrats, the successor to the Labor party, led by former general Yair Golan.

The challenger: Gadi Eisenkot

Eisenkot is a career soldier who entered politics four years ago. He rose from infantryman to chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces. His party's name, Yashar, means "straight" or "honest", a direct appeal to voters tired of scandal. His son, Gal Meir Eisenkot, 25, died of his wounds in late 2023 after an operation in Gaza to recover the bodies of hostages.

His platform targets the government's record rather than its ideology. He backs a full state inquiry into the intelligence failures before October 7 and wants to end the draft exemption for ultra-Orthodox men. He has also said he would immediately reverse Netanyahu's decision to put far-right, pro-settler minister Bezalel Smotrich in charge of the occupied West Bank and return that role to the army.

On the Palestinian question, he is cautious. "I've never said that the solution is two states for two peoples," Eisenkot said during the campaign, adding that anyone who thinks an agreement can be reached now is "gravely mistaken". He opposes the planned E1 settlement block near Jerusalem but supports settlement in general.

Eisenkot spent the morning greeting voters in Ofakim, a southern town attacked on October 7, a visit widely read as a reminder of the security failures of that day.

Election day so far

Voting began on time across most of the country. The Central Elections Committee said more than 95% of polling stations had reported opening shortly after 7 a.m., adding that a missing report did not necessarily mean a station was closed. Some voters in Jerusalem lined up before the doors opened. President Herzog voted in Jerusalem with his wife, Michal.

The operation is large. About 100,000 workers are running the vote, and the committee printed 450 million ballot slips, according to its pre-election briefing. Turnout figures are being published every two hours from 11 a.m. local time.

Voters with personal stakes were out early. Families bereaved on October 7 gathered at 6:29 a.m., the minute the attack began three years ago, in the Tel Aviv plaza known as Hostages Square. They did not endorse a party but repeated their call for a state commission of inquiry, urging voters to "remember them at the ballot box."

Some ballots were cast before today. Voting at Israel's diplomatic missions abroad ended on October 16, and voting at some military bases began last week.

What it means for you

For readers in the US, UK, Canada and Australia, the result will shape some of the biggest foreign-policy questions their own governments face, including the future of Gaza, the West Bank and relations with Iran. A change of government could also change how Israel responds to Western sanctions on violent settlers.

There is also a direct link for Israeli citizens living abroad. Israeli law generally requires citizens to vote in person inside Israel, with narrow exceptions for diplomats and certain official envoys. Aid Coalition, a US-based nonprofit that works on Israeli democracy, estimates that as many as 67,000 voters flew home for this election, about half of them from the United States and others from Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Timing matters if you are following live. Polls close at 10 p.m. in Israel, which is 8 p.m. in the UK, 4 p.m. in New York and Toronto, 1 p.m. in Los Angeles and 7 a.m. on Wednesday in Sydney. Exit polls arrive at that moment, but they are projections, and small parties hovering near the threshold can shift the final seat count by several seats.

Another view: will much really change?

Not everyone expects a sharp change of direction even if Netanyahu loses. Prof. Yossi Mekelberg of the Chatham House think tank said Eisenkot and other opposition leaders are essentially promising to be "better CEOs" who run the country more competently rather than take it somewhere new, and that they are "not really talking about the Palestinian issue."

Israeli pollster Dahlia Scheindlin points to a longer-term shift. More than 500,000 Israelis have reached voting age since 2022, and a recent television poll found three-quarters of first-time Jewish voters describe themselves as right or centre-right. Young Israelis are more right-wing than older generations, Scheindlin said, which means the next Knesset could lean further right whoever becomes prime minister.

What happens next

• Tonight, 10 p.m. local time: polls close and television exit polls are released.
• The coming days: the Central Elections Committee counts the votes, including double-envelope ballots, and certifies the results.
• After certification: President Herzog consults every party leader on whom they recommend for prime minister, then asks the candidate he believes is most likely to succeed to form a government.
• Up to 42 days: the time that nominee has to assemble a coalition with at least 61 seats. If it fails, the process can move to another candidate, and Israel has gone back to the polls before when no one could form a government.

Police have also prepared for possible clashes and disruption after the exit polls are published.

The bottom line

Israel's election is close, and tonight's exit polls are unlikely to settle who governs. The final pre-election numbers put both blocs short of a majority, with small parties and coalition pledges likely to decide the outcome.

Takeaways for readers:

1. Treat exit polls as provisional. Wait for the committee's count, especially for parties near the 3.25% threshold.
2. Watch the coalition pledges, not just the seat totals. Whether opposition leaders keep their promise not to rely on Arab parties will decide whether a 56-seat bloc can become a government.
3. Follow the president's consultations. Herzog's choice of nominee, and the 42-day clock that follows, is the next real decision point.
4. If you have family or business ties in Israel, expect weeks of uncertainty. Policy on Gaza, the West Bank, the military draft and the October 7 inquiry will stay unsettled until a coalition is sworn in.

FAQ

When will we know who won?

Exit polls come at 10 p.m. local time tonight. Official results take several days, and forming a government can take weeks.

Why can't the biggest party just govern?

No party has ever won a 61-seat majority on its own in the Knesset, so the prime minister needs a coalition of several parties.

Can Israelis abroad vote by mail?

Generally no. Apart from diplomats and certain official envoys, citizens must vote in person in Israel.