Gadi Eisenkot, whose son Gal was killed fighting in Gaza during the war, presented himself as an institutional alternative opposed to violent Israeli West Bank settlers

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To form a governing coalition following the October 27, 2026 election, a political alliance must secure a majority of at least 61 seats in Israel's 120-seat Knesset

Approximately 7.3 million Israeli citizens were eligible to vote in the October 27, 2026 Knesset election, including around 330,000 first-time voters

Former military chief Gadi Eisenkot led the new center-right Yashar party in the October 27, 2026 Israeli election as the principal challenger to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remained on trial for bribery, fraud, and breach of trust corruption charges during the October 27, 2026 election

If neither Benjamin Netanyahu nor Gadi Eisenkot can assemble a 61-seat parliamentary majority, Netanyahu could remain as caretaker prime minister ahead of repeat elections

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vehemently rejected allegations of genocide and war crimes raised by international bodies and the International Criminal Court regarding military operations in Gaza

Predominantly Arab political parties, representing roughly 20 percent of Israel's population, expressed willingness to back an opposition minority government from outside a coalition to remove Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu campaigned on his wartime military leadership, his close alliance with U.S. President Donald Trump, and confronting the Iranian government

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court over alleged war crimes during the military offensive in Gaza

Opponents of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and families of attack victims called for an independent state commission of inquiry into the political and security failures surrounding the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack

Polling stations across Israel opened at 7:00 a.m. local time and closed at 10:00 p.m. local time on October 27, 2026

Israel held its first general election since the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel on Tuesday, October 27, 2026

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, seeking to extend over 19 years in office, faced a close race in the October 27, 2026 election while trailing or running neck-and-neck in opinion polls

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu resisted calls from victims' families for an independent state commission of inquiry into October 7, 2023, while attempting to shift blame onto Israel's security establishment

Parties contesting the October 27, 2026 Israeli Knesset election must pass an electoral threshold of 3.25 percent of the vote to earn seats in the 120-seat parliament

Gadi Eisenkot pledged not to join a government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and campaigned for an independent judiciary and expanded military conscription for ultra-Orthodox Jews

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich ordered the immediate demolition of a row of illegal Palestinian structures in Hebron following the October 23, 2026 shooting attack that killed two Israeli soldiers

Defence Minister Israel Katz stated that displaced Palestinian residents in Hebron will not be permitted to return until military forces resolve all Hamas issues in the city

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged an Israeli military operation in the West Bank on a scale not seen since Israel first occupied the West Bank in 1967

Hebron Mayor Youssef al-Jaabari stated that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched the military crackdown in Hebron following the October 23, 2026 shooting to secure far-right and settler votes ahead of Tuesday's election