Campaign news
Netanyahu Pushes Reserved Likud Slate Slots; Bitan Files 'Constitutional Coup' Petition
Likud's Constitution Committee convened in the Knesset on Sunday, June 28, 2026, to weigh Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's demand for up to 10 or 11 reserved slots on the party's electoral slate, an unprecedented intervention ahead of the August 4 primaries. Reported beneficiaries include Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar and former Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, both seen as electoral assets in a tight national race. Construction Minister Haim Katz, who chairs the committee, has resisted the breadth of the demand, and MK David Bitan petitioned Likud's internal court calling the move a "constitutional coup" against the party's roughly 100,000 members. Any rule change still requires Central Committee ratification; the panel also unanimously postponed the primaries from July 28 to August 4.
Sources:(1)(2)(3)(4)(5)Netanyahu Opens Direct Campaign Assault on Eisenkot Over Rafah and Philadelphi
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used a Saturday night press conference on June 27, ostensibly called to defend the new US-brokered Lebanon framework, to launch his first direct campaign attack on former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, the Yashar party leader now narrowly leading Likud in head-to-head premiership polls. Netanyahu argued that Eisenkot and his allies had opposed entering Rafah, seizing the Philadelphi Corridor, the pager operation, the elimination of Hassan Nasrallah, and the expanded Hezbollah campaign that destroyed roughly 90 percent of its missile stockpile, decisions Netanyahu credits with reshaping the post-October 7 battlefield. Pairing the broadside with a Begin-style "no more civil war" pitch for a broad national government, the premier sought to win back center-right voters who drifted to Eisenkot, Naftali Bennett, and Avigdor Lieberman. Eisenkot called Netanyahu "a prime minister who blindly led to a historic low" who invests his energy in division, incitement, and encouraging draft evasion.
Sources:(1)(2)(3)(4)Simchi Confirms Finalized Joint Run With Gantz, Open to Sitting With Haredi Parties
Former Fire and Rescue Commissioner Brig. Gen. (res.) Dedi Simchi declared on Army Radio (Galei Tzahal) on Sunday that his political alliance with Benny Gantz's Blue and White party has been finalized, ending weeks of speculation about a centrist merger. Simchi indicated the emerging alliance 'would sit with anyone but Arab parties,' positioning it as a Zionist-only opposition vehicle that could potentially cooperate with a Netanyahu-led government if no anti-Netanyahu bloc forms. Kan polling suggests the combined Blue and White, Reservists and Simchi slate would win roughly 5 to 7 Knesset seats, comfortably crossing the 3.25 percent electoral threshold. Yoaz Hendel's Reservists party remains in talks, though Hendel opposes Simchi's openness to sitting with the haredi parties, leaving a three-way merger uncertain. The announcement reshuffles the centrist field as parties scramble to lock in slates before the August 4 primaries deadline.
Sources:(1)(2)(3)Eisenkot Rejects Netanyahu's Broad Government Pitch, Vows to Replace October 7 Premier
Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot dismissed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's 'broad national government' appeal on Sunday, calling him 'a prime minister who blindly led to a historic low, who works day and night in division and incitement.' The former IDF chief of staff, whose son Gal fell in Gaza in December 2023, said Netanyahu is 'not worthy of these people and certainly not to preach a moral about unity.' Eisenkot pledged that Israelis 'will replace the one who was in the position of prime minister on the morning of the October 7 massacre and has been running away from responsibility since then.' He vowed instead to build 'a government with a Zionist and national majority, which will take care of Israel's interests.' Polls show Yashar tied with or ahead of Likud ahead of the October vote.
Sources:(1)(2)(3)(4)(5)Zman Yisrael Poll: Eisenkot's Yashar Tops Likud for First Time, Opposition Hits 62 Seats
A new Zman Yisrael poll marks a campaign inflection point, putting Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar party at 23 seats and Netanyahu's Likud at 21, the first survey to show the former IDF chief of staff overtaking the ruling party. Bennett and Lapid's Together alliance follows at 17, with Yisrael Beiteinu at 11, Shas at 10, Otzma Yehudit at 8, and United Torah Judaism and the Democrats each at 7. Zionist opposition parties together reach 62 of 120 Knesset seats, a workable majority to form the next government. The numbers reflect growing public confidence in security-credentialed leadership forged in the October 7 war and the campaigns that followed.
Sources:(1)(2)(3)Likud Constitution Committee postpones primaries to August 4; slate rules due Thursday
The Likud Constitution Committee voted unanimously on Sunday to postpone the party's 26th-Knesset primaries from July 28 to August 4, and pushed the voter-registry deadline from July 7 to July 10. The committee declined to make a final ruling on Prime Minister Netanyahu's request for authority to reserve 8 to 10 slots on the slate, including three inside the top ten, deferring the decision to a fresh set of primary rules scheduled to be released Thursday. The postponement was billed as procedural, ensuring proper time to onboard new members and finalize an orderly nomination process ahead of the October 27 general election. Netanyahu is guaranteed the top spot regardless of how the reserved-slot question is resolved.
Sources:(1)(2)(3)(4)Netanyahu brands Eisenkot 'too cautious,' touts Rafah, Philadelphi and Lebanon wins
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opened a direct election-trail attack on his rising challenger Gadi Eisenkot, branding the former IDF chief of staff as 'too politically cautious' to have ordered the operations that reshaped the battlefields against Hamas and Hezbollah. Netanyahu argued that under an Eisenkot government Israel would not have entered Rafah, seized the Philadelphi Corridor, eliminated Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, executed the 2024 pager operation, or destroyed 90 percent of Hezbollah's missile stockpile, leaving 'all of Radwan Force's terror tunnels right here on the border.' Eisenkot countered that Netanyahu 'blindly' led Israel to a 'historic low,' lies, and 'evades responsibility.' Polls put Eisenkot's Yashar party as the main right-leaning challenger to Likud.
Sources:(1)(2)(3)(4)(5)Likud Constitution Committee weighs reserving 8-10 slate slots for Netanyahu picks
The Likud Constitution Committee is weighing whether to grant Prime Minister Netanyahu authority to reserve 8-10 spots on the 26th-Knesset Likud slate, three of them inside the top ten — Kan put the current ask at eight or nine, after Netanyahu's earlier May proposal of up to ten. The proposal follows Netanyahu's retreat from replacing primaries with a selection committee, preserving the open primary system while ensuring senior unity figures including FM Gideon Sa'ar and former Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon land in winnable positions on the list. Likud primaries are now scheduled no later than 28 July, with Netanyahu guaranteed the top spot, ahead of the general election on 27 October 2026.
Sources:(1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)Netanyahu reportedly warns he could leave Likud if denied 10 reserved slate slots
Maariv reported that Netanyahu told Likud Central Committee chairman Haim Katz he would leave Likud if his demand for ten reserved seats on the 26th-Knesset slate is not granted, ahead of the constitution committee's reconvened Sunday vote on the primary system. Katz reportedly warned the move 'could crush Likud,' while Netanyahu countered that the standoff itself is the real threat. Allies cautioned that a split would only benefit Eisenkot, Lieberman, and Bennett.
Sources:(1)(2)Channel 12 and Kan surveys: Likud and Yashar pull ahead as Beyachad continues to slip
A Channel 12 poll Thursday put Likud at 23 seats and Eisenkot's Yashar at 21, with Bennett-Lapid's Beyachad slipping to 18. A separate Kan poll by the Kantar Institute (n=553, ±4.2%) put Likud at 24, Yashar at 22, and Beyachad at 16. In Kan's head-to-head matchups, Eisenkot led Netanyahu 43-39, Netanyahu led Bennett 44-41, and Eisenkot crushed Bennett 42-21 as preferred opposition leader. Neither the coalition bloc nor the Zionist opposition crossed 61 in either survey.
Sources:(1)(2)(3)(4)Maariv poll: Likud gains a seat, Yashar surges past Bennett-Lapid as Beyachad bleeds
A Maariv survey showed Likud climbing to 22 seats while Bennett-Lapid's Beyachad continued its sharp decline, losing roughly 10 seats over two months down to 18. Eisenkot's Yashar surged 9 seats since the Beyachad merger to reach 21. The coalition strengthened to 50 seats versus 60 for the opposition, and 63% of respondents told Maariv that Netanyahu should always act in Israel's interests 'even if it conflicts with requests from U.S. President Donald Trump.'
Sources:(1)Lieberman holds firm: Yisrael Beytenu will not sit with Netanyahu or Ra'am
Avigdor Lieberman reiterated that Yisrael Beytenu will not enter any coalition with Netanyahu's Likud or with Mansour Abbas's Ra'am, committing to 'establish a Zionist government' instead. With Yisrael Beytenu polling around 10 seats in recent surveys, the position makes Lieberman a swing-bloc figure for the 26th Knesset: neither Netanyahu's right-religious camp nor the Zionist opposition can reliably reach 61 if his red lines hold.
Sources:(1)(2)(3)Religious Zionism clears threshold in June polls, but blocs remain short
Television polls aired Wednesday gave Bezalel Smotrich's Religious Zionism five seats, above the 3.25% Knesset threshold, while Likud led with 23-24 seats and Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar polled at 20-22. The surveys still left both blocs short of a governing majority: parties backing the current coalition totaled 53 seats, the opposition 57, and Hadash-Ta'al plus Ra'am held the remaining 10.
Sources:(1)(2)Bennett-Lapid 'Together' merger settles into post-honeymoon polling
Two television polls aired Wednesday showed the Bennett-Lapid alliance losing ground as Eisenkot's Yashar climbed. Channel 13 gave Together 15 seats and Yashar 20, while Kan put Together at 16 and Yashar at 22; Likud still led with 23-24. The surveys showed neither the current coalition nor the opposition reaching a majority in the 120-seat Knesset without the Arab parties.
Sources:(1)Likud weighs replacing primaries with a 'selection committee'
Prime Minister Netanyahu pushed to replace Likud's open primary system with a 'selection committee' that would compose the party's 26th-Knesset slate, while also seeking 8-10 reserved slots for handpicked candidates if the broader change failed. The proposal drew resistance inside Likud from officials warning that it would give Netanyahu unprecedented control over the list.
Sources:(1)(2)Netanyahu drops bid to scrap Likud primaries, seeks 8-10 reserved slots instead
After internal resistance to replacing Likud primaries with a selection committee, Netanyahu shifted to seeking 8-10 reserved spots on the Likud list. The proposal would give him influence over top-ten placements, with FM Gideon Sa'ar and former Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon reportedly among the figures Netanyahu wants in winnable slots.
Sources:(1)(2)(3)Hadash, Ta'al and Balad re-form a Joint List — without Ra'am
Hadash, Ta'al and Balad announced they would move forward with reestablishing the Joint List ahead of the upcoming elections, while talks with Ra'am failed over Mansour Abbas's openness to supporting a future government. The parties said a final agreement with Ra'am was no longer possible, leaving Abbas's faction outside the revived Arab slate.
Sources:(1)(2)Likud Constitution Committee sets primaries deadline of July 28
Tourism Minister Haim Katz, who chairs the Likud Constitution Committee, announced that the committee voted unanimously to hold primaries for the party's Knesset slate no later than July 28, 2026. If elections are moved up, the primaries will shift to two months before the new election date. The decision came as Likud officials debated how much influence Netanyahu would seek over the final slate.
Sources:(1)Knesset votes 106-0 on first reading to dissolve, potentially moving up elections
Coalition Chairman Ofir Katz's bill to dissolve the 25th Knesset advanced unanimously on first reading by 106-0. The vote opened the process of potentially moving the election earlier, though elections were already required to be held no later than October 27, 2026.
Sources:(1)(2)Democrats formally ratify Labor-Meretz merger at Tel Aviv conference
The Democrats party held a Tel Aviv conference where members voted overwhelmingly to ratify the Labor-Meretz merger originally agreed in 2024, locking in Meretz's reserved slots at positions 6, 8 and 14 on the joint Knesset slate. Leader Yair Golan has faced internal pushback from Meretz figures who accuse him of trying to clear room for new candidates, while recent polls placed the party at roughly 8-11 seats.
Sources:(1)Coalition advances bid to disqualify Ra'am over alleged terror links
Officials close to Prime Minister Netanyahu pushed forward a legal and political effort to designate Ra'am's parent body — the Southern Faction of the Islamic Movement — as a terrorist organization, a step that would bar both the party and chairman Mansour Abbas from the ballot. The push is rooted in allegations that the Southern Faction transferred funds to Gaza in a manner that could have supported Hamas. Israel previously outlawed the Northern Faction of the same movement in 2015.
Sources:(1)Channel 12 poll: coalition at 51 seats, Eisenkot's Yashar at 17
A Midgam survey for Channel 12 put Netanyahu's coalition at 51 of 120 Knesset seats and Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar at 17, the highest figure Eisenkot's new party had recorded in a Channel 12 poll to that date. The poll showed the anti-Netanyahu camp short of a Zionist majority without the Arab parties, while Religious Zionism was back over the 3.25% threshold.
Sources:(1)(2)(3)Yesh Atid and Bennett announce joint 'Beyachad' slate
After Yesh Atid sank to roughly 6-7 seats in polling, Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett announced a joint slate called Beyachad (Together), to be led by Bennett at the next election.
Sources:(1)(2)Knesset dissolution bill advances with 106 MKs voting in favor
A coalition-backed bill to dissolve the Knesset advanced in preliminary reading with 106 MKs voting to disband parliament, opening a path to early elections after Haredi parties protested the failure to pass yeshiva-student draft legislation. The sources reported that no election date was set and that parties were weighing September or mid-October options.
Sources:(1)(2)Likud 'Likudiada' straw poll: Ohana and Eli Cohen tie at the top
At Likud's annual Eilat activists' conference, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana and Eli Cohen tied for top vote-getter, marking both men as leading next-generation Likud figures.
Sources:(1)Yousef Jabareen replaces Ayman Odeh as Hadash chair
Former MK Dr. Yousef Jabareen was elected to lead Hadash's Knesset list, ousting Ayman Odeh. Jabareen called for establishing the broadest possible Joint List ahead of the upcoming election.
Sources:(1)(2)Bill expanding grounds to disqualify Knesset candidates advances
An amendment to Basic Law: The Knesset sponsored by MK Ofir Katz (Likud) cleared preliminary reading 61-35, broadening the criteria for barring candidates who support terror to include support for lone-attacker acts and removing the requirement that Central Elections Committee disqualifications need High Court ratification.
Sources:(1)Channel 12 poll: Beyachad and Likud tied at 25; coalition gains ground
A Channel 12 News survey showed Bennett-Lapid's Beyachad tied with Likud at 25 seats each, with the opposition bloc dropping to 59 — two short of a governing majority. The coalition rose to 51 seats, leaving the anti-Netanyahu camp without a clear path to 61 if Bennett's refusal to rely on Arab parties held.
Sources:(1)Former Shin Bet chief Yoram Cohen joins Eisenkot's Yashar
Gadi Eisenkot announced that former Shin Bet director Yoram Cohen — a 35-year veteran of Israel's security establishment — would join the Yashar slate ahead of the 2026 election. Cohen said he was answering Eisenkot's call because Israel faced severe challenges and what he described as dangerous, misguided leadership.
Sources:(1)Former Budget Director Shaul Meridor joins Eisenkot's Yashar party
Veteran economist Shaul Meridor, ex-director-general of the Energy Ministry and former head of the Finance Ministry's Budget Division, announced he would run on Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar slate. Meridor said October 7 convinced him 'the time to sit on the sidelines is over' and that Israel needs 'deep reform.' He joined former ministers Matan Kahana and Orit Farkash-Hacohen on the party's founding list.
Sources:(1)First post-merger poll: 'Beyachad' wins 27 seats but underperforms separate runs
The first Channel 12 (Mano Geva) poll after the Bennett-Lapid merger projected Beyachad at 27 seats — four fewer than Bennett's party and Yesh Atid had been polling separately. Likud climbed to 28 seats, and the opposition bloc actually fell to 59, short of the 61 needed for a majority without Arab support. The result quickly punctured early hopes that a merger would unlock a sweeping anti-Netanyahu majority.
Sources:(1)Bennett-Lapid launch 'Beyachad' (Together) party at Herzliya event
Naftali Bennett and Opposition Leader Yair Lapid officially unveiled their joint 'Beyachad' (Together) slate at the Dan Accadia Hotel in Herzliya, with Bennett taking the top spot and Lapid at No. 2. Their announced platform centers on a State Commission of Inquiry into October 7, an eight-year term limit for the premiership, and a universal conscription law. The merger marks their second joint venture after the 2021 'change government' that briefly displaced Netanyahu.
Sources:(1)Veteran Likudniks Erdan and Edelstein in talks to form 'Likud B' alternative
Former UN ambassador Gilad Erdan and Likud MK Yuli Edelstein were reported to have reached initial agreements on launching a new statesmanlike right-wing party informally dubbed 'Likud B,' intended to draw moderate Likud voters frustrated with Netanyahu's coalition with Otzma Yehudit and the Haredi parties. Names also being floated include Deputy FM Sharren Haskel, former finance minister Moshe Kahlon, and ex-IDF general Ofer Winter. The project remains stuck on the question of who would lead it.
Sources:(1)Amit Halevi wins 40% in Jerusalem Likud Central Committee election
Likud MK Amit Halevi's ticket won about 40% of the vote in the Jerusalem Likud branch elections, while a joint slate backed by Nir Barkat and David Amsalem won roughly 60%. The Times of Israel described Halevi's result as a significant showing for the party's younger Liberal Likud faction.
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