Israel is scheduled to hold new elections on October 27, 2026—the first government in 50 years to serve its full four-year term. The polls currently indicate that, depending on the polling organization, the Netanyahu-led ultra-right-wing bloc will gain about 55 seats, the opposition Zionist/Jewish parties will gain about 54 seats, and the Arab parties will gain about 11 seats. While the poll numbers continue to change, the majority of polls indicate that neither Jewish bloc will gain a majority of 61 seats in the 120-member Knesset without linking up with the Arab parties. Virtually every non Arab (Jewish) party has declared that they will not sit in a coalition with anti-Zionist/Arab parties.

Without debating the rights or wrongs of the non democratic practice of refusing to form a government with legitimately elected non-Jewish parties, it is apparent that the current polls point to a deadlocked election, which will result in the current government continuing until yet another round of elections is held unless either Jewish bloc breaks with their pre-election promises of not forming a coalition with one or more Arab parties.

On the other hand, if we examine the opposition anti-Netanyahu bloc, we can try to predict what a possible future government would look like, made up of opposition parties, excluding the Arab parties. While much can, and probably will, change between now and the elections in less than four months, the parties, their policies, and platforms will not change. Four major areas that impact Israeli life where the various parties may agree or differ are regional warfare, continued occupation of the West Bank, Israeli democracy, and Haredi conscription/national service.

As the polls stand right now (The Economist polo tracker, July 14th, 2026), the following four opposition parties may be able to cobble together a coalition government only by joining with the Arab parties:

Yachad led by Bennet and Lapid: 14 seats Yashar led by Eizenkot: 21 seats Israel Beiteinu led by Lieberman: 9 seats Democrats led by Yair Golan: 10 seats

Yachad led by Bennet and Lapid: 14 seats

Yashar led by Eizenkot: 21 seats

Israel Beiteinu led by Lieberman: 9 seats

Democrats led by Yair Golan: 10 seats

Joint List led by Yousef Janareen: 6 seats Ra’am led by Mansour Abbas: 5 seats

Joint List led by Yousef Janareen: 6 seats

Ra’am led by Mansour Abbas: 5 seats

The current coalition polls at 55/120 seats if elections were held today. It should be noted that the polls have sharp differences depending on the polling agencies and the actual elections may differ radically.

Both Yair Golan and Gadi Eizenkot are ex-generals who entered politics after serving in the IDF for decades. The major factor uniting all four parties is their opposition to Bibi Netanyahu.

Continued Occupation versus a Two-State Solution

The Democrats, led by a former general, Yair Golan, were formed by merging Labour and Meretz, with a projected 10 seats. It is the only party supporting a two-state solution (TSS) and the only party that is left of center. Meretz, Labor, Raam, and United Arab Party officially support the two-state solution. The rest of the parties officially reject it. Some of those who reject it could be pushed to say they would support it under specific conditions.

Yashar, Gadi Eisenkot, firmly presents a centrist political stance. A former general, he is hawkish when it comes to security matters. He favors diplomatic realism and opposes right-wing religious........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)