Israel Heads to the Polls in First Election Since the October 7 Attacks

Israelis are heading to the polls on Tuesday in the country's first national election since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks plunged the Middle East into crisis, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu facing one of the most consequential and closely contested races of his long political career. The vote comes amid heightened military activity in the occupied West Bank, a fresh attack that killed two Israeli soldiers, and sweeping border closures imposed for election day itself.

West Bank Closures and Violence Shadow the Vote

Israel announced on Sunday that all land crossings with the West Bank would be sealed on election day, with the Israeli army confirming that Palestinians would not be permitted to enter Israeli communities or industrial zones in the West Bank and the Jordan Valley for work. The closure is part of a broader security clampdown following a shooting attack near the Palestinian city of Hebron on Friday, in which gunmen killed two Israeli soldiers and wounded three others at a checkpoint. Hamas did not claim responsibility for the attack but praised it publicly.

Netanyahu responded to the killings by vowing a heavy price for the attack and signalling a military operation on a scale not seen since Israel first occupied the West Bank in 1967. Israeli forces had already pushed into Hebron by Saturday, displacing around 2,000 residents. Defence Minister Israel Katz said those residents would not be permitted to return until the military had, in his words, finished dealing with all Hamas issues in the city.

Residents described being woken in the middle of the night and given little time to leave. One 70-year-old shopkeeper from the Hebron neighbourhood of Ein Deir Baha said soldiers knocked on his door at 1:00 am and ordered him to evacuate. He said he asked how long the evacuation would last and was told "until further notice". He described the ordeal facing elderly and unwell neighbours, including his 90-year-old mother-in-law who had to be carried from the area due to illness.

The Israeli army said it had operated across 40 areas of the West Bank over Friday and Saturday, apprehending approximately 40 suspects, including individuals it described as affiliated with Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Right-wing Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who also holds a role overseeing civilian affairs in the West Bank, said he had personally ordered the immediate demolition of what he described as illegal structures in the area following the shooting.

The Palestinian Authority called for international pressure on Israel to protect residents caught up in the military operation. Critics, including the displaced shopkeeper, have alleged the timing of the crackdown is politically motivated, arguing Netanyahu is seeking to capitalise on security anxieties ahead of the vote.

Netanyahu's Grip on Power Under Pressure

The 2026 Israeli legislative election is being held against the backdrop of an Israeli public still deeply scarred by the failures that allowed the October 7 attacks to occur. Netanyahu, who has served as prime minister for a total of 18 years across three separate periods since 1996, goes into Tuesday's vote with his security-first reputation severely damaged. He also carries lingering corruption allegations that have dogged his tenure.

Polls published in the days before the election showed the ruling coalition and the opposition bloc running almost level, with the result genuinely uncertain. Israel's proportional representation system, in which citizens vote for a party rather than individual candidates, means a final outcome may not be known for weeks or even months as parties negotiate to form coalition governments. The Knesset, Israel's single-chamber parliament, has 120 seats, and any government requires at least 61 to hold a majority. No single party has ever achieved that on its own.

A total of 38 parties are contesting the election, though most are not expected to clear the 3.25 per cent threshold required to enter the Knesset.

Who Are the Key Players?

Netanyahu leads the right-wing Likud party at the head of a five-party coalition that includes ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties, the far-right Otzma Yehudit led by national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, and Religious Zionism led by Smotrich. Both Ben-Gvir and Smotrich have been sanctioned by the Australian government and live in occupied West Bank settlements.

His most significant challenger is Gadi Eisenkot, a former chief of the Israel Defense Forces who formed the centrist party Yashar only last year. Eisenkot's son, a soldier, was killed in the early stages of the Israel-Hamas war. His campaign has centred on accountability for the October 7 security failures, ending religious exemptions from military service, and rebuilding Israel's defence capability. Most polling has Yashar finishing as the largest single party in the Knesset, ahead of Likud.

A further opposition bloc has been formed by former prime ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, who combined their parties into a grouping called Beyachad, meaning Together, despite holding opposing political views. Bennett positions himself as part of a "new right" focused on restoring public trust in Israeli institutions. On the left, the Democrats, a party formed in 2024 through a merger of the Labor party and the far-left Meretz, are also contesting the election.

What Comes Next

With polling day falling on Tuesday and Israel's complex coalition arithmetic likely to dominate the weeks ahead, the country faces an extended period of political uncertainty even after votes are counted. The outcome will shape Israel's approach to the ongoing conflicts in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran, as well as the future of its operations in the West Bank. For Netanyahu, the election represents either a remarkable political comeback or the end of nearly three decades as one of the most powerful figures in the region.