Israel votes on 27 October 2026. This guide covers how the system works, every party that matters, the polls, and the deals and drama behind the seats. Plain English. No spin.
Israel votes on 27 October 2026. This guide explains how the 120-seat Knesset election works, profiles every party that matters, tracks the polls, lists each party's ballot letters and shows how a coalition reaches 61 seats. It is independent, non-partisan and updated as the news changes.
The pieces that make everything else make sense.
Who they are, who leads them, what they want and who they will sit with. Roughly in order of expected size.
The stories behind the seats.
Israeli polls miss, and by a lot. Read this before you quote one.
Tuesday 27 October 2026. Most polling stations open at 7:00 and close at 22:00. Official results are expected around 4 November.
Thirty-eight lists qualified. The main ones are Likud under Benjamin Netanyahu, Yashar under Gadi Eisenkot, Together under Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, the Democrats, Yisrael Beytenu, Shas, United Torah Judaism, Religious Zionism-Zehut, Otzma Yehudit, the Joint List and Ra'am.
Likud and Yashar are roughly level in the low 20s. In the poll average, neither the Netanyahu bloc nor the Zionist opposition reaches 61 seats on its own. Polls in Israel often miss, so treat them as direction, not a forecast.
A list needs 3.25% of valid votes, about 4 seats, to enter the Knesset. Votes for lists under the line are not counted toward any seat.
Independent and non-partisan. How we work, our sources and corrections.
New polls, pacts and party moves, in plain English. A few emails until 27 October.