Israel Votes Tomorrow: Netanyahu and Eisenkot Locked in a Fierce Fight With No Clear Majority

Netanyahu runs on the Iran threat and Trump’s endorsement, while Eisenkot targets his security record

October 26, 2026

The result could reshape Israeli politics and the wider West Asia landscape

Netanyahu runs on the Iran threat and Trump’s endorsement, while Eisenkot targets his security record

Israel votes on Tuesday in one of its most bitterly fought elections in years, with polls suggesting neither of the two main political blocs can count on a majority. The vote comes while Israel is caught up in the conflict with Iran and facing pressure on its northern border from Hezbollah.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is campaigning on a single message: that only he can contain the Iranian threat. He has the backing of US President Donald Trump, who has endorsed him twice. Netanyahu’s coalition includes his Likud party, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s pro-settler Religious Zionism, and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s far-right Jewish Power.

His main challenger is former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, who presents himself as a security hawk and a political outsider. Other contenders include an alliance led by former prime ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, former defence minister Avigdor Lieberman, and a four-party bloc led by Yair Golan with significant Arab-Israeli representation.

According to the Jerusalem Post, the four most recent surveys, which closed on October 23, put Eisenkot’s Yashar party ahead of Likud. Neither major bloc reaches the 61 seats needed for a majority in the 120-seat Knesset.

On Sunday, Netanyahu shared an AI-generated image of a nuclear explosion over Tel Aviv. The post quoted a right-wing activist warning that Israel faces an existential threat from Iran and that a prime minister unable to keep close contact with Trump would endanger the country. The warning also raised the prospect of a “second Holocaust” if voters backed anyone else.

Eisenkot has countered by pointing to the failures of the October 7 attacks, accusing Netanyahu of being responsible for the country’s worst security disaster and of treating national security as a political tool.

Israel uses a party-list proportional system. Parties need at least 3.25% of valid votes to win seats. After the election, the president asks a member of the Knesset to try to form a government, which must then win a confidence vote. Every Israeli government to date has been a coalition. Analysts say the outcome could reshape both Israeli politics and the wider West Asia situation.

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