Story perspectives

Netanyahu Says He Can Form Government Without Arab Parties

By Drooid · Oct 27, 2026, 22:25 UTC · How we work

Same facts. Different interpretations.

How coverage differs

Left

Israeli citizens voted in a general election on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, the first national poll since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack.
The vote is framed as a test of Israel’s democratic character and Arab-Israeli citizens’ rights as the country shifts further right.
By 8 p.m., 74.3 % of eligible Israelis had voted, the highest mid-day turnout since 1988.
Arab-majority towns reported turnout surpassing 2022 levels, highlighting increased Arab participation.

Center

Israeli citizens voted in an election on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, the first major nationwide poll since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he alone can form a government without Arab parties.
Analysts say fragmented Knesset and turnout make a majority unlikely, prompting coalition talks.
Gadi Eisenkot, Yashar party leader, pledged an Oct. 7 inquiry and ending ultra-Orthodox draft exemptions.

History

The 17 May 1977 election—dubbed the Mahapach—saw Menachem Begin’s Likud win a plurality with 79 % voter turnout, ending nearly three decades of Labor rule and beginning a two-decade period of roughly equal left-right blocs. The 27 Oct 2026 vote, Israel’s first nationwide poll in years, takes place in that still-fragmented Knesset.

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Record Arab Turnout

Israeli citizens voted in a general election on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, the first national poll since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack.
The vote is framed as a test of Israel’s democratic character and Arab-Israeli citizens’ rights as the country shifts further right.
By 8 p.m., 74.3 % of eligible Israelis had voted, the highest mid-day turnout since 1988.
Arab-majority towns reported turnout surpassing 2022 levels, highlighting increased Arab participation.

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