Israel Election Could Leave Coalition Talks Decisive

Israelis are scheduled to vote on Oct. 27 in an election shaped by the Gaza war and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s leadership after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks. A poll of 500 people put Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party at 26 seats and Netanyahu’s Likud at 20, with neither bloc near the 61 seats needed for a Knesset majority; later polling shows the anti-Netanyahu bloc ahead in some surveys, and coalition talks could lead to another election if they fail. Settler violence in the occupied West Bank is a campaign issue: opposition leaders condemn it as terrorism, while Netanyahu’s camp disputes accounts and says criticism is a campaign against Israel. About 7.3 million Israeli citizens are eligible to vote, while millions of Palestinians living under Israeli control in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem cannot vote.