JERUSALEM — Israel will hold legislative elections on Oct. 27 with the political landscape deeply fragmented and polls indicating neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor his primary challenger, Gadi Eisenkot, can secure a clear path to form a government.
Netanyahu, who has served as prime minister for nearly 19 years, faces a significant challenge. For over two years, most polls have indicated his coalition of parties will fall short of the 61 seats needed to form a government in the 120-member Knesset.
His campaign has framed the election in starkly partisan terms, presenting voters with a choice between his right-wing bloc and what he calls a vote for Palestine. Netanyahu will turn 77 a week before the election.
Gadi Eisenkot, the former chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces, leads the opposition. His path to power is complicated by his refusal to ally with parties led by Palestinian citizens of Israel, who are projected to win 12 crucial seats.
The latest Channel 13 poll underscored the deadlock. Jewish Israeli parties opposed to Netanyahu were projected to win 52 seats, while Netanyahu's bloc was projected to take 51 seats. Both fall short of the 61-seat majority required.
Eisenkot's Yashar party topped that poll with 22 projected seats, while Netanyahu's Likud was projected to secure 18 seats.
If neither Netanyahu's coalition nor the opposition secures 61 seats on election day, Netanyahu would remain in office to oversee a caretaker government, extending political uncertainty. Some analysts suggest another election could be scheduled in early 2027.
The ballot will heavily reflect the impact of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks and nearly three years of war in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran. A recent poll by the Israel Democracy Institute found that 68 percent of Jewish respondents cited Oct. 7 as a central factor in their voting decision.
Public trust in Israeli institutions has declined sharply. The Israel Democracy Institute reported that average public trust across eight consistently measured institutions stood at 34 percent in 2025, down from 61 percent in 2012.
In West Jerusalem, Rachel, 42, said she will not vote. "I don't trust anyone," she said. She previously voted for the centrist Yesh Atid party, led by Yair Lapid, but said she no longer sees a future for the country.
Ilda, who owns a clothing shop on Jaffa Street in Jerusalem's central business district, said, "After 7 October, everyone in this government has to take the blame." Tensions between Palestinians in occupied East Jerusalem and right-wing Jewish Israelis have intensified since the Oct. 7 attacks. Most Palestinians in East Jerusalem cannot vote in Israeli national elections.
