Overview
- Polls published this week have given sharply different pictures of the race, with some surveys showing Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar as the largest party and others, including a Channel 14 poll, projecting a large right‑wing bloc that would strengthen Benjamin Netanyahu's reelection chances.
- On Thursday the right‑wing landscape shifted: the Religious Zionism list merged with Moshe Feiglin's Zehut and Likud MP Tally Gotliv secured an agreement to run on Itamar Ben‑Gvir's Otzma Yehudit slate, moves that could consolidate hard‑right votes.
- Yoav Segalovitz's decision to join the United Arab List and calls inside the Together party for a merger with Yashar are changing the anti‑Netanyahu bloc's composition and reflect scramble for tactical alliances ahead of the Sept. 8 slate deadline.
- Netanyahu has publicly pressed his right‑wing allies to unite, warning that fragmentation will waste votes below the 3.25% cutoff; party leaders are weighing mergers because a few tens of thousands of votes could shift the balance of power.
- With formal slates due Sept. 8 and the election set for Oct. 27, the next days will determine which small lists survive, which blocs can reach 61 seats, and whether the contest ends with a narrow right‑wing hold or an anti‑Netanyahu majority blocked by coalition choices.