Story perspectives

Netanyahu Trails in Polls as Knesset Calls Snap Election

5/21/2026

Summary

Story summary

After the ultra-Orthodox faction withdrew support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Knesset voted almost unanimously to dissolve itself, triggering a snap election.
Opinion polls after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks show Netanyahu’s coalition trailing and predict his loss in the first national vote since the attacks.
Netanyahu faces a corruption trial, a plea deal involving President Isaac Herzog, and health concerns after prostate-cancer treatment and a pacemaker implant.

History

Historical Context

On 17 May 1977 the Likud party, led by Menachem Begin, won 43 Knesset seats, ending the Alignment’s three-decade rule and forming a narrow 61-seat coalition with religious parties—a shift dubbed the “Mahapakh.” Today, Netanyahu’s ultra-Orthodox partners have withdrawn, prompting a Knesset dissolution and snap election, echoing the 1977 realignment’s significant destabilizing impact.

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Story summary

After the ultra-Orthodox faction withdrew support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Knesset voted almost unanimously to dissolve itself, triggering a snap election.
Opinion polls after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks show Netanyahu’s coalition trailing and predict his loss in the first national vote since the attacks.
Netanyahu faces a corruption trial, a plea deal involving President Isaac Herzog, and health concerns after prostate-cancer treatment and a pacemaker implant.

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