TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel is holding pivotal elections on Tuesday in what many Israelis call the most consequential vote in their country's history after the last few years of war.
Polls show Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu trailing in the race behind his main challenger, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot. But it may take weeks or months before it's clear who will be designated the winner.
That's because voters will not directly choose between Netanyahu and Eisenkot. Instead, they will vote for one of a dozen main parties running for office in the 120-seat parliament, known as the Knesset.
The real contest will begin after election day, when party leaders try to assemble a governing coalition of at least 61 lawmakers.
Here is a guide to the leading candidates, the issues shaping the vote and what could happen next.
Who are the leading candidates?
Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, is seeking another term in office.
Netanyahu has led the most right-wing government in Israel's history. His coalition has included Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, leaders of far-right, religious nationalist parties that are also running in this election, as well as two ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties.
Netanyahu has led Israel through more than three years of war and regional conflict, from the Hamas-led attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, and the war in Gaza to fighting involving Lebanon, Iran, Syria and Yemen. He is campaigning on Israel's military achievements and his close relationship with President Trump, who recently endorsed him. Netanyahu has also made confronting Iran, and ultimately seeking the fall of its regime, a central part of his campaign.
His principal challenger is Gadi Eisenkot, a former chief of staff of the Israeli military who is running for prime minister for the first time as the leader of a new center-right party called Yashar, Hebrew for "Straight" or "Upright."
Eisenkot's son, Gal, an Israeli soldier, was killed in Gaza during the war. Recent polls have shown Eisenkot has the strongest chance of replacing Netanyahu, although no party or political bloc appears assured of winning a parliamentary majority.
Eisenkot's Yashar includes figures from Israel's political center and moderate right. The opposition parties he would partner with range from the right and center to the liberal left. He has pledged not to join a government led by Netanyahu.
How could Arab parties play a role in the results?
Two predominantly Arab parties are also running, including the United Arab List, also known as Ra'am, which made history in 2021 as the first Arab Islamist party to join an Israeli governing coalition. The party says it is willing to work with predominantly Jewish parties in exchange for policies fighting crime and promoting housing, infrastructure and other problems facing Israel's Arab minority community, which makes up about 20 percent of the country's population.
But nearly all the main predominantly Jewish political parties, including Eisenkot's, remain reluctant to rely on Arab parties to form a coalition. That reluctance could leave the anti-Netanyahu camp without the 61 seats it needs for a governing majority.
What is the election about?
Accountability for Oct. 7: The Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage, looms over the election. Netanyahu has resisted calls to establish a state commission of inquiry into the political and security failures that preceded the attack. Eisenkot and other opposition leaders say they would establish such a commission soon after taking office.
Who should serve in the military: Nearly three years of fighting across several fronts have placed a heavy burden on Israel's standing army and military reservists. The military says it needs additional personnel, intensifying a decades-old dispute over exemptions for ultra-Orthodox Jewish men. Netanyahu, reliant on ultra-Orthodox parties for political support, has resisted enlisting them, while Eisenkot is campaigning to expand military service to more ultra-Orthodox Jews.
Israel's judiciary: Before the Oct. 7 attack, Netanyahu's government pursued a judicial overhaul that would have weakened the supreme court and given the governing coalition greater influence over the appointment of judges. The plan triggered some of the largest protests in Israel's history. Netanyahu's far-right partners are campaigning on renewed efforts to limit the power of the courts, while Eisenkot advocates for an independent and powerful judiciary. Netanyahu remains on trial for corruption, and says the charges are politically motivated.
Israel's international isolation
The wars in Gaza and the region, and Israel's policies in the occupied West Bank, have badly strained its relations with many governments overseas, and public support for Israel in the U.S. has plummeted, worrying many Israeli voters. Netanyahu emphasizes his relationship with Trump and argues that military strength has improved Israel's strategic position. Eisenkot and his allies say continued international isolation threatens Israel's economy, diplomatic relationships and security.
What could happen after the election?
A party does not need to finish first in the race for the party leader to be Israel's next prime minister. What matters is whether he can assemble a coalition with majority support in parliament.
Most recent polls suggest that neither Netanyahu nor Eisenkot has a clear path to a majority. That leaves several possible outcomes:
- Eisenkot's allies could break their campaign promises and form a coalition relying on support from one or more Arab parties, either as formal coalition members or from outside the coalition, and the opposition would rule with a minority government
- Netanyahu and Eisenkot could form a broad unity government, although Eisenkot has publicly ruled out serving under Netanyahu.
- Netanyahu could agree to a plea deal that would dismiss his criminal charges in court, in exchange for stepping down as prime minister and serving under Eisenkot as a senior minister.
- A deadlock, where neither side may be able to form a government, leaving Netanyahu as a caretaker prime minister, with a repeat election held next year.
Even if Eisenkot cannot immediately form a coalition, a parliamentary majority opposed to Netanyahu could try to elect a new Knesset speaker, establish a state commission of inquiry into the Oct. 7 attacks, and advance legislation on ultra-Orthodox military service.
Netanyahu would try to do everything he can to prevent such an outcome. His Likud party's billboards are already promoting a scenario in which the party could claim that the election was stolen, a move that could lead to chaos in the days after the vote.
What direction would Israel take depending on who wins the election?
Neither Netanyahu nor Eisenkot currently supports the establishment of a Palestinian state in the foreseeable future. Their most significant differences concern democratic institutions, the occupied West Bank and Israel's relationship with the world.
Netanyahu has governed with ultra-Orthodox and far right parties that support settlement expansion in the West Bank and a weaker supreme court. His far-right partners have pushed for annexation of the West Bank and expulsion of Palestinians, drawing sanctions from the U.K. and Europe.
Eisenkot presents himself as a more institutional and pragmatic alternative. He has also taken a tougher position against violence by Israeli settlers and says he would act against settlement outposts that are illegal even under Israeli law.
Eisenkot has opposed settlement construction in E1, a strategically sensitive area just east of Jerusalem. Critics of the settlement plan say Israeli construction there would further divide the West Bank and make the creation of a territorially contiguous Palestinian state much more difficult.
The choice facing Israeli voters is therefore not a straightforward contest between left and right. It is also a contest over Netanyahu's leadership, accountability for Oct. 7, the role of religion in the state, the independence of Israel's institutions and what kind of alliances the country will pursue at home and abroad.
NPR's Daniel Estrin contributed to this story.
Copyright 2026 NPR
