An Unusual Election Threatens To Topple Netanyahu — While Palestinians' Fate Hangs In The Balance
Palestinian blocs could gain enough seats to sway coalition talks as polls show neither side likely to reach the 61-seat majority.
- Israel holds elections on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, where voters will decide between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition candidate Gadi Eisenkot. Palestinian parties could emerge as kingmakers in the 120-seat Knesset if neither coalition secures a majority.
- Under Netanyahu's 17-year rule, armed settlers established over 250 rustic camps across the Israeli-occupied West Bank, displacing Palestinian communities. Hamas's Oct. 7, 2023, attack turbocharged this process, forcing at least 127 Palestinian herding communities off their land.
- Recent polling averages show the anti-Netanyahu coalition winning 53 seats to Netanyahu's 51, though neither group is likely to reach the 61 seats required for a Knesset majority. Parties must pass the 3.25% electoral threshold to qualify.
- Palestinian citizens, who comprise 21% of Israel's voters, hold significant potential influence as kingmakers. While Eisenkot has ruled out including Palestinian parties in his coalition, the United Arab List remains more likely to join negotiations after Election Day.
- Most opposition parties, including Eisenkot's, agree with Netanyahu's position to expand Jewish settlements in the West Bank and oppose a two-state solution. Mairav Zonszein, senior Israel analyst at the International Crisis Group, warns that settlement expansion will likely continue regardless of the election's outcome.
34 Articles
34 Articles
The Toronto Star
Netanyahu might be finished but his policies toward the Palestinians will largely endure
JALUD, West Bank (AP) — Israel's elections Tuesday could mark the end of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decades-long political career.
Whatever the outcome of Israel’s election, its policies toward the Palestinians will largely endure – WTOP News
JALUD, West Bank (AP) — Israel's elections Tuesday could mark the end of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's decades-long political career. But his legacy in th
Benjamin Netanyahu's government has endured the bloodiest attack in Israeli history. Voters now have a chance to decide whether the longtime prime minister's era is over. But would his defeat mean Israel is ready to turn a new page in relations with the Palestinians?
A Middle East expert expects the leading candidate in the Israeli election campaign to take a tougher line in Gaza – but a softer line in the West Bank – than current Prime Minister Netanyahu.
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