Israelis Vote in Tight Race Between Netanyahu and Former Military Chief Eisenkot

Israelis went to the polls on October 27, 2026, in a close election that is the country's first since the October 7 attacks, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu facing a tight race against former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, according to CNN. Netanyahu voted just after midday, and Eisenkot, the top challenger, also cast his ballot on election day, Al Jazeera reported. Early turnout appeared strong.

For much of the campaign, Netanyahu had looked likely to lose power. Successive surveys pointed that way, but Reuters reported that the race narrowed as the vote approached.

Two of the most prominent challengers are men who once worked close to Netanyahu. Naftali Bennett, 54, is a former prime minister and a right-wing former commando who was once an aide to Netanyahu. In June 2021, Israel ousted Netanyahu and approved Bennett as prime minister. Avigdor Liberman, a former defense minister, is also a right-wing politician who broke with Netanyahu. Both men are now running against him.

Bennett has joined forces with Yair Lapid, a centrist former prime minister. The joint list, called Beyachad, or "Together," was announced in April 2026. Liberman will lead his own slate of candidates for the Knesset, Israel's parliament, and Rafi Ben Shitrit, a former mayor of Beit Shean and ex-member of Netanyahu's Likud party, is second on it.

On election day, Bennett urged voters to back any party in the anti-Netanyahu bloc, a loose grouping of parties opposed to keeping Netanyahu in office. He said that being the largest party had "no significance." Bennett and Liberman both focused much of their campaign messages on Israel's ultra-Orthodox minority, according to The New York Times.

The election could also raise questions about how a government would be formed. The Jerusalem Post reported that the opposition was weighing a minority coalition government, meaning one that does not hold a majority of seats in parliament, and that Eisenkot was considering the same option. Netanyahu's rivals have said they will not include Arab parties in their coalition, Reuters reported.

Bennett and Liberman have also laid out plans to pass laws against Netanyahu immediately after the election, the Times of Israel reported. Security has been a concern for the campaign. Bennett's security was doubled amid threats and attack plots, and Liberman received death threats, according to the Times of Israel. Bennett had also toured Likud strongholds across the country in an effort to persuade Likud supporters.

Liberman's Yisrael Beytenu party has appealed to the Central Elections Committee, the body that oversees the vote, over suspected foreign interference through WhatsApp, the messaging app, the Times of Israel reported.