Israel will hold national elections on October 27, the last date allowed by law, its parliament has said, with the vote widely seen as a referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's policy, particularly accounting for the Gaza genocide and multiple wars in the Middle East.
The Knesset is set to end its current term on July 17, allowing the ruling coalition to complete a full four-year term for the first time in decades.
"Since the current Knesset is expected to serve its full term and the next general election is already set by law for October 27, with no intention of shortening the legislature's tenure, there is no need to enact a Knesset Dissolution Law in the usual sense," the parliament said in a statement on Sunday.
Netanyahu, 76, is already the country's longest-serving prime minister, having served multiple, non-consecutive terms, and has declared his intention to run again.
He has said he "intends to win" the election.
But recent polls show that a majority of Israelis want him out of office, with former military chief Gadi Eisenkot emerging as his main rival.
A recent poll by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem found that more than 92 percent of Israelis believe Iran had won the Middle East war, while support for Netanyahu’s premiership fell from 40.5 percent in early March to 29.4 percent in June.
Public opinion has also turned critical of the ceasefire that halted the war Israel and the US launched against Iran in late February, which led to a deal between Tehran and Washington that many view as unfavourable to Israel.
Anger also lingers over the multiple security failures.
In November 2024, the court’s Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) unanimously issued warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least October 8, 2023, charges that included starvation as a method of warfare, murder, and persecution.
Several countries and international rights groups have accused Netanyahu of supervising genocide in Gaza, where nearly 75,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed since October 2023 as Israel continues to violate a US-mediated truce in place since October 2025.
In recent days, Netanyahu’s government, one of the most right-wing coalitions in Israel’s history, has been racing to pass a series of bills in a bid to shore up its alliance and enter the election from a position of strength.
Voter sentiment is also expected to be affected by a bitter dispute over whether ultra-Orthodox, or Haredi, Jewish men should serve in the military.
An Israeli parliamentary committee approved a bill to suspend the detention of ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) Jews who evade mandatory military service, paving the way for final votes in the full Knesset later this week, according to local media.
The Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee approved a temporary order freezing the detention of draft evaders studying at religious seminaries, or yeshivas, Israel's Yedioth Ahronoth daily reported.
Netanyahu’s key allies have repeatedly threatened to topple the government unless their constituents are exempted from the draft, while the Israeli military and much of the public argue that broad enlistment is necessary after years of wars have left the armed forces stretched thin.
