2026 Israeli election

Bedouin women protest against the increasing house demolitions in unrecognized villages in the Naqab, outside the Israeli government's "Bedouin Authority" offices in the southern city of Be'er Sheva, June 25, 2026. (Oren Ziv)

Palestinian Bedouin women in Israel are leading a quiet revolution

The fierce reaction to racist remarks by an Israeli journalist reflects the growing strength of a feminist movement fighting on two fronts.

By Samah Salaime November 6, 2026

A Palestinian woman votes in a polling station in Umm al-Fahm, northern Israel, October 27, 2026. (Oren Ziv)

Why Israel’s election was a moment of Palestinian unity

Never before have so many people in Gaza and the West Bank called on Palestinian citizens of Israel to vote — a signal of a new political paradigm.

By Abed Abou Shhadeh November 5, 2026

Benjamin Netanyahu surrounded by supporters, during an election campaign tour in the southern Israeli city of Ashdod, September 29, 2026. (Liron Moldovan/Flash90)

To oust Netanyahu, Israel’s opposition needs to learn this lesson from him

The secret to the prime minister’s political longevity has been abandoning commitments when they get in his way. It’s time his opponents did the same.

By Amos Brison November 1, 2026

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Joint List chairman Yousef Jabareen and supporters gather at the party’s election headquarters in the northern Israeli city of Nazareth, following the closing of polling stations on Israel’s election night, October 27, 2026. (Sharon Leibel/Flash90)

Palestinian citizens are the big winners of Israel’s election. It doesn’t matter

The historic result for Arab parties is rendered meaningless by an Israeli opposition that appears unwilling to partner with them to depose Netanyahu.

By Rami Younis October 30, 2026

Supporters of the United Arab List (Ra’am) party gather following the release of exit poll results in the northern Israeli city of Sakhnin, on Israel’s general election night, October 27, 2026. Photo (Michael Giladi/Flash90)

How Ben Gvir and Smotrich helped drive historic Arab voter turnout

Israel’s far right brought national politics into every Arab home. On election day, Palestinian citizens proved that fear and despair need not mean silence.

By Baker Zoubi October 28, 2026

Israeli forces demolish homes in the Farsh Al-Hawa area of Hebron, following a deadly attack on a checkpoint nearby, West Bank, October 23, 2026. (Mosab Shawer/Activestills)

In Hebron, Netanyahu is turning displacement into an election spectacle

Israel has expelled 4,000 Palestinians in four days, destroying many of their homes and engineering a new reality that we fear will become permanent.

By Issa Amro October 27, 2026

Joint List chairman Yousef Jabareen and other party members attend the party's Hebrew-langauge campaign launch event, ahead of the upcoming Israeli general elections, in Tel Aviv, October 5, 2026. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

The battle for Jewish votes among Israel’s Palestinian parties

The Joint List and Ra’am could prove decisive in Israel's election. But they offer very different answers on how far to bend in pursuit of Jewish support.

By Amos Brison October 27, 2026

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits the Hatikva Market in Tel Aviv as part of the Likud party’s election campaign, October 22, 2026. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

50 shades of right: An Israeli election primer

While Netanyahu’s bloc adds more extremists to its ranks, his opponents are impeding their own path to power by refusing to work with Arab parties.

By Ben Reiff October 23, 2026

Balad chairman Sami Abu Shehadeh, surrounded by MK Ahmad Tibi and Joint List chairman Yousef Jabareen, at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem for a hearing on the Central Elections Committee’s decision to disqualify candidates and parties from running in the upcoming Knesset elections, October 1, 2026. (Oren Ziv)

Israel’s election won’t change the renewed reality of political apartheid

Sami Abu Shehadeh’s disqualification sends a clear message: Jewish-majority state institutions will now determine who can represent Palestinian citizens.

By Areej Sabbagh-Khoury October 22, 2026

Leena Dallasheh (courtesy)

PODCAST: What’s at stake for Palestinian citizens in Israel’s election?

Leena Dallasheh discusses the echoes of military rule in today’s crackdown on Palestinian dissent, and the struggle for a more substantive form of citizenship.

By +972 Magazine October 22, 2026

Election campaign billboards featuring Yashar party chairman Gadi Eisenkot and Likud party chairman and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu alongside opposition leaders, displayed on a road in the northern Israeli city of Haifa, October 17, 2026. (Sharon Leibel/Flash90)

Eisenkot is trying to outflank Netanyahu on the right. It’s a failed strategy

The more the opposition leader adopts hawkish positions, the harder it is to explain what alternative he offers — and he’s not the first to make that mistake.

By Amos Brison October 21, 2026

Israeli police officers chase an ultra-Orthodox man during a police operation in the Haredi neighborhood of Mea Shearim, in Jerusalem, October 5, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Days away from Israeli elections, a ‘sour mood’ pervades the Haredi street

As their decades-long alliance with the right frays, ultra-Orthodox parties have left their public facing a draft crisis, rising poverty, and political disillusionment.

By Eli Bitan October 15, 2026

Far-right lawmakers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir in the assembly hall of the Knesset, Jerusalem, December 28, 2022. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

Israel’s far right has unprecedented power. Why isn’t it satisfied?

Having realized many of its once-unthinkable ambitions, the right remains frustrated by what it still can’t achieve — and demands even more violence.

By Meron Rapoport October 12, 2026