Overview
- Sunday reports attributed to Channel 12 analyst Amit Segal say Gadi Eisenkot wants a 63–64‑member purely “Zionist” coalition that bars chareidi and Arab parties unless they unconditionally accept a universal military or national service law.
- The plan treats any qualified support for the draft as a rejection, would forbid backroom abstention deals, and aims to build a durable government that could later attract defecting Likud lawmakers after Netanyahu leaves office.
- Religious Zionism completed primaries Sunday and elevated hard‑right figures such as Orit Strock and Simcha Rothman near the top of its list, strengthening the far‑right flank that will factor into coalition talks.
- Polls published July 26–27 show a tight race with surveys flipping between Yashar (Eisenkot) and Likud, and multiple polls warn the opposition would fall short of a stable Jewish‑only majority without Arab‑party support.
- Recent moves in Arab politics, including Mansour Abbas’s United Arab List asserting independence from the Islamic Movement, increase the leverage of Arab parties and make post‑vote bargaining the central determinant of who can form government.