Israel goes to the polls: Netanyahu and his challengers

The elections in Israel on 27 October are seen as a referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of the situation following the bloody Hamas attack on 7 October 2023 in southern Israel. However, Israelis will be voting for parties, not for individual candidates. From the far right to Arab Israelis, via the ultra-Orthodox, there are 37 parties taking part in the elections. The parties will then form alliances to create a majority coalition. In the country’s 88-year history, no single party has ever secured a majority in the 120-member parliament, the Knesset. Parties must secure at least 3.25 per cent of the vote to enter the Knesset, and they then need to win 61 seats to achieve a majority. Here are the faces of the main contenders at the polls.