Election news
Israel election news, 19 October 2026
Gantz drops out eight days before the vote, the left welcomes it while the right warns about wasted votes, thousands of diplomats and emissaries already voted abroad, Trump endorses Netanyahu, Netanyahu sets a 450 billion shekel defense plan, and polls split on who is ahead.
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CampaignBenny Gantz drops out of the election eight days before the vote
Blue and White leader Benny Gantz said on Monday that he will not run in the 27 October election. His statement said he will keep fighting for unity, which he called the only way to prevent another disaster. His party says he is not leaving politics and is not endorsing anyone for prime minister for now. Polls had Blue and White under the 3.25% threshold for months. The party says its own polling rose from about 0.5% to about 2% but stayed well short. A source close to Gantz tied the timing to soldiers' voting, which opens on Tuesday. At his evening press conference he said he did not manage to persuade enough of the public and that the responsibility is his. He called on leaders across the spectrum to form a Zionist, cross-bloc unity government and said "don't bring us back to October 6." He said he would make the same choice again about joining the emergency government in 2023. He said he decided "out of responsibility" to remove his candidacy. Kan says his circle will not endorse anyone, and that he plans to work after the election toward a unity government. Israel Hayom says his circle estimates a second round of elections is likely, and that he may wait and run again if so. Gantz has not said that publicly. Kipa, citing unnamed sources, says that for the Blue and White slip to be kept out of polling stations, all 39 candidates on the list must submit personal resignations by Wednesday, when the Central Elections Committee starts distributing voting materials. If one does not, the slip is printed and distributed as usual. We could not confirm the rule or the deadline with an official source. A Hebrew analysis suggests Yoaz Hendel's list may gain, which is a guess, not a poll.
CampaignEisenkot and Golan welcome it. On the right, Religious Zionism and Sa'ar warn about wasted votes
Gadi Eisenkot called the decision "correct and responsible." Yair Lapid congratulated Gantz. Yair Golan said it is now a shared duty to win for the change bloc. The right did not simply celebrate. Religious Zionism said Gantz acted so as not to burn votes for the left bloc, and blamed Ofer Winter and what it called splinter parties for risking a left government. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar urged right-wing lists at or near the threshold to withdraw, and said wasted votes on the right "could be fatal." He pointed to 1992 as his example. Likud said Gantz was never offered a reserved ministerial slot. Winter thanked Gantz, said the move shows his party matters, and committed to sit only in a Netanyahu government. Yoaz Hendel urged "third bloc" voters to back his list. Those are the parties' own claims, not polling.
VotingThousands of Israelis abroad already voted. What happens to votes cast for Blue and White?
Voting at Israeli missions abroad ended on 16 October. Of 4,863 eligible voters, 4,218 cast ballots, a turnout of 86.7%, at 101 stations in 99 missions. The envelopes go to Israel before the count. Israel Hayom reports that votes already cast for Gantz's list will not be counted in the seat distribution, but it does not give the legal basis, and none of our sources says how many of those ballots were for Blue and White. Votes for a list under the threshold do not produce seats anyway. Soldiers vote from Tuesday. Check with the Central Elections Committee for the official ruling.
CampaignTrump endorses Netanyahu: "any other leader would be a mistake"; Eisenkot says only Israelis decide
Donald Trump posted his first intervention in the campaign on Sunday. He called Netanyahu a great fighting prime minister and said that if Israel picks another leader, America would have to do the work against Iran itself. Netanyahu thanked him and said the two will "complete the mission together." Gadi Eisenkot answered at a Tel Aviv University panel that only Israeli citizens will decide, and that Washington will work with whichever government is elected. Ynet notes that people in the opposition bloc reportedly tried in April to get a message to Trump not to get involved.
CampaignNetanyahu presents a 450 billion shekel defense plan; Lapid says it will mean a VAT rise
Netanyahu presented a security doctrine on Sunday. It adds about 450 billion shekels to defense spending over ten years, on top of roughly 350 billion already agreed. He also warned that a US president hostile to Israel could take office within two years, and said Israel should build ties with India, Latin America and European states. Part of the funding comes from a cut across government ministries, including NIS 2.6 billion already approved. Yair Lapid said the plan has no clear funding source and would push VAT to 21 or 22 percent. Eisenkot called the document hollow.
PollsKan poll: Yashar 23, Likud 21; the Eisenkot bloc 52, the Netanyahu bloc 51
A Kan 11 poll by Dudu Hasid, with 554 respondents, gives Yashar 23, Likud 21, Together 12 and the Democrats 9. Otzma Yehudit, the Joint List, Yisrael Beytenu and Shas have 8 each. Religious Zionism and United Torah Judaism have 7, Ra'am 5 and the Hendel and Zelekha list 4. Winter's party is at 3.1 percent and out, after holding 4 seats last week. Blue and White is at 1.1 percent. The margin of error is 4.2 points.
PollsTwo more polls disagree: Direct Polls has Likud on top, Maariv's average has Yashar ahead
A Direct Polls survey for i24NEWS, fielded on 18 October with 525 respondents, gives Likud 25, Yashar 21 and Together 13. It has Otzma Yehudit at 10 for the first time in an i24 poll, and puts the coalition at 57 seats. Winter and the Reservists are below the threshold. Maariv's average of four polls from Maariv, Channel 13, Kan and Channel 12 has Yashar at 21.5, Likud at 19 and the two blocs level at about 51. The i24 result is the outlier. Check the average on our tracker.
CampaignChannel 14 panelist repeats the "monkey" remark about Eisenkot
On Channel 14's The Patriots on Sunday night, panelist Yotam Zamri joked that Trump said to choose Netanyahu "and not the monkey." The other panelists laughed. Yinon Magal had used the word about Eisenkot earlier. Magal says he meant a front man who takes the blame, not Eisenkot's looks. Eisenkot called it "shabby racism" and Yashar parked a campaign truck outside the studio. Ynet reports no apology from the channel, the panelists or Magal.