Israel will hold parliamentary elections on 27 October, the first since Hamas launched an attack on 7 October 2023 in which nearly 1,200 people were killed, the Guardian reports. Voters will for the first time in three years assess Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his coalition.
The Knesset, Israel’s parliament, will be dissolved on Friday. According to reports from the Guardian, the ruling coalition is using the final days to pass a series of controversial laws. Among them is a bill that would divide and weaken the powers of the state attorney, and a law declaring the study of the Torah a ‘fundamental value’ and equating it with military service. The latter is seen as a step towards exempting ultra-Orthodox Jews from military service.
Following the confirmation of the election date on Sunday, coalition members were ordered to remain in Jerusalem until Friday, Israeli media report.
Netanyahu, 76, who is currently facing corruption charges, is the subject of ongoing legal proceedings, with US President Donald Trump previously calling for his pardon. Polls currently suggest the prime minister could lose power, although he has repeatedly defied such predictions over the course of his three-decade political career.
The main challenger is seen to be Gadi Eizenkot, the former chief of the Israeli general staff, whose son and two nephews were killed in the fighting in Gaza. According to a poll commissioned by Kan News, his party, Yesh Atid, has this week overtaken Netanyahu’s Likud: if the election were held now, it would win 24 seats to Likud’s 23.
Netanyahu has placed national security at the centre of his campaign, arguing that only he can guarantee the safety of Israelis. The Guardian notes that he would become the first Israeli prime minister in decades to serve a full term. Given the complex coalition dynamics, early elections are the norm in Israel, with the last one held on schedule in 1988.
