Oct 27, 2026 16:00 pm IST

Opinion | Will Israel 'Dump' Netanyahu? Why His Future Hangs In The Balance

The October 7 incident continues to haunt 'Bibi', producing two competing arguments how the security breach occurred under Netanyahu's watch, and who Israelis can trust to protect them in the future.

Aishwaria Sonavane Aishwaria Sonavane Columnist

Aishwaria Sonavane Columnist

Israel goes to the polls on October 27, in an election extensively framed as a referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. That assessment, however, limits a more crucial political contest to the fate of one leader, thereby missing a critical chapter of what Israeli politics looks like in the aftermath of the October 7 Hamas-led attack in 2023. The question that demands greater attention is whether the country's political center of gravity will shift if Netanyahu fails to secure an electoral mandate. Would a leadership change alter the country's strategic direction amid a heavily security-driven environment?

Before offering assessments of Israeli elections and their potential outcome, it remains important to understand the electoral process itself. Israeli citizens do not vote directly for the prime minister on the ballot; instead, they vote for parties to the 120-member Knesset, or the Israeli parliament, allocated through proportional representation. The country essentially functions as a single constituency, and any party surpassing the 3.25% threshold receives seats broadly proportional to its vote share. The result, therefore, remains less dependent on the number of seats each party secures and more on its ability to form a coalition to........

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