Israelis Vote for 26th Knesset as Final Polls Show Neither Bloc Near a Majority
About 7.33 million citizens can cast ballots Tuesday in Israel's first national election since the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks; the result will decide who governs the Jewish state during a tense season of security threats.
See where this is βΊJERUSALEM, Israel β
Israelis are voting Tuesday, Oct. 27, to elect the 26th Knesset, the country's 120-seat parliament. According to Central Elections Committee figures reported by JNS, about 7.33 million citizens are eligible to vote, roughly 543,000 more than four years ago, at 12,018 polling stations across the country, 6,208 of them accessible.
Most polling stations open at 7 a.m. and close at 10 p.m. local time, the Israel Democracy Institute said. In small communities with up to 350 eligible voters, and at some special stations such as those in hospitals, polls are open only from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. A party list must win at least 3.25% of valid votes to enter the Knesset. Election Day is a national holiday, and schools and most workplaces are expected to close.
Learn more βΊThe main contest is between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose Likud party leads the governing coalition, and former army chief Gadi Eisenkot, whose Yashar party leads the opposition. Final polls projected that neither bloc would reach the 61 seats needed for a majority, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported. Several smaller parties are hovering near the threshold and could decide the outcome.
The JTA listed security, accountability for those in charge during the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, the place of the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) community in Israeli society, and Israel's standing in the world among the issues before voters. Tani Frank, director of the Shalom Hartman Institute's Center for Judaism and State Policy, told the outlet, βThis election is consequential for both sides.β
Learn more βΊSoldiers began voting Oct. 21 at more than 850 polling stations, many of them mobile, at army bases including in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, JNS reported. Israeli diplomats abroad began voting Oct. 15. About 810,000 eligible voters live outside Israel, the Israel Democracy Institute said. President Isaac Herzog, speaking at Israel's embassy in Baku, Azerbaijan, called the vote βa celebration of democracy.β
Security forces are on high alert. All Israel News reported that Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) was to be under lockdown for 24 hours or longer beginning Monday evening, after a shooting near Hebron on Friday killed two soldiers, Staff Sgt. Ron Yonatan Roytman and Sgt. Yuval Shai Svilem. Security forces have since arrested 50 suspects, the outlet said.
See where this is βΊBecause no bloc is expected to win a clear majority, the vote is likely to be followed by coalition talks. Watchman News will report the results as they are announced.
