{"id":12278,"date":"2026-10-29T11:40:31","date_gmt":"2026-10-29T11:40:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=12278"},"modified":"2026-10-29T11:40:31","modified_gmt":"2026-10-29T11:40:31","slug":"israels-election-rhetoric-what-candidates-said-and-how-they-performed-israel-election-2026-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=12278","title":{"rendered":"Israel\u2019s election rhetoric: What candidates said, and how they performed | Israel Election 2026 News"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Israel\u2019s parliamentary election<\/a> on Tuesday produced no clear winner, with nearly 90 percent of ballots counted and both major political blocs falling short of the 61 seats needed to form a government.<\/p>\n

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s<\/a> bloc is on course to win 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset, while the opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot<\/a> is expected to secure 48 seats.<\/p>\n

The Arab-majority parties won 19 seats, a historic high, driven by record turnout among Palestinian citizens of Israel of about 80 percent. That has placed the Arab parties at the centre of coalition arithmetic, even as several party leaders ruled out governing with them.<\/p>\n

So what did the main contenders say in the run-up to and during the vote, and how did they fare? Here is a look:<\/p>\n

Benjamin Netanyahu, Likud: Elections \u2018stolen by Arab parties\u2019<\/h2>\n

Pre-election:<\/strong> In the build-up to the election, Netanyahu expressed confidence, telling The Jerusalem Post on October 22, \u201cI\u2019m gonna have five more terms.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Sunday, he targeted the opposition, with Haaretz citing a broadcast on Israel\u2019s Channel 14 that Netanyahu warned if they win, they will \u201cgive citizenship to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians\u201d, a move that would signal the \u201cend of the Jewish state\u201d.<\/p>\n

Election day:<\/strong> On Tuesday, he said forming a government with Arab-led parties would be \u201ca shame and a disgrace\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is forbidden \u2013 simply forbidden \u2013 to endanger Israel<\/a> and to establish a government that relies on anti-Zionist Arab parties,\u201d he told supporters.<\/p>\n

Post-election day:<\/strong> After the elections, Netanyahu\u2019s Likud party took aim at Palestinian citizens of Israel who voted.<\/p>\n

In a party statement shared by Netanyahu, it claimed the elections \u201cwere stolen by Arab parties that support terrorism and the elimination of the Jewish state through serious criminal offences\u201d. According to The Times of Israel, police and the Central Elections Committee have already dismissed these claims.<\/p>\n

What the results show: <\/strong>Likud is on course for 26 seats, the largest party, with 20.65 percent of the vote. But his bloc has 53 seats, eight short of a majority.<\/p>\n

Gadi Eisenkot, Yashar Party: \u2018I do not see an Arab party that accepts my principles\u2019<\/h2>\n

Pre-election:<\/strong> In a September interview with The Jerusalem Post, he dismissed the idea he would need to form a coalition with Arab parties: \u201cI believe the majority we receive will be much larger than what the polls currently show,\u201d adding \u201cI do not see an Arab party that accepts my principles.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also said his \u201cinner feeling is that I now have the ability to defeat Netanyahu\u201d.<\/p>\n

Election day:<\/strong> Eisenkot rallied Israelis to get rid of \u201cthe worst government Israel has known\u201d.<\/p>\n

However, he acknowledged how tight the race was, saying, \u201cWe are on perhaps the most critical day since the founding of the state.\u201d<\/p>\n

Post-election day:<\/strong> On Wednesday, Eisenkot told his supporters the Israeli public \u201cvoted against\u201d Netanyahu and promised, \u201cto ensure that the people\u2019s decision is translated into a Zionist government\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

What the results show: <\/strong>Yashar is on course for 21 seats, with 16.16 percent. His bloc has 48, 13 short of a majority, and he cannot reach 61 without the Arab-led parties.<\/p>\n

Naftali Bennett, Together Party: \u2018The October 7 government is going home\u2019<\/h2>\n

Pre-election:<\/strong> In February, months before the vote, Bennett told a closed conference of party activists that he stood by his 2021 decision to govern with Ra\u2019am, but said he would not repeat it.<\/p>\n

He said, \u201cWe will establish a unity government under my leadership \u2026 We are going to win, and we are going to form it,\u201d Israel National News reported.<\/p>\n

Election day:<\/strong> \u201cNetanyahu has lost, and the October 7 government is going home,\u201d Bennett told supporters in Tel Aviv.<\/p>\n

Post-election:<\/strong> In a post on X, Bennett told Israelis to \u201clift your heads\u201d and said he will do everything \u201cto establish a Zionist Alliance of Servants government\u201d.<\/p>\n

What the results show: <\/strong>Together is on course for 12 seats with 9.07 percent, narrowly behind the Joint List.<\/p>\n

\"RA'ANANA
Naftali Bennet attends an election campaign event [File: Amir Levy\/Getty]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Itamar Ben-Gvir, Otzma Yehudit: Palestinians in Gaza \u2018shouldn\u2019t live\u2019<\/h2>\n

Pre-election:<\/strong> In his election campaign, Ben-Gvir expressed his most genocidal views yet, saying in August that there are Palestinians in Gaza \u201cwho are not worthy of life. They shouldn\u2019t live. They\u2019re not even people.\u201d He called for Israel to kill \u201c30 to 40\u201d people in Gaza every night.<\/p>\n

Election day:<\/strong> \u201cIf you want this country to stay Jewish and Zionist, if you don\u2019t want it to be in the hands of (Israeli Knesset members) Mansour Abbas and Ahmad Tibi, go out and vote,\u201d he told supporters at the entrance to the Arab city of Kafr Qasim.<\/p>\n

What the results show:\u00a0<\/strong>Otzma Yehudit is on course for seven seats, with 5.58 percent, less than half of the 15 he wanted.<\/p>\n

Bezalel Smotrich, Religious Zionism-Zehut: \u2018Jewish settlements will be established in Gaza\u2019<\/h2>\n

Pre-election:<\/strong> In a statement he issued in August, he promised an expansion of his settlement \u201crevolution\u201d with a programme for the \u201cJudaization of the Negev and the Galilee\u201d at the expense of Palestinians, as part of his campaign.<\/p>\n

Election day:<\/strong> He warned on Facebook of high turnout in communities of Palestinian citizens of Israel, claiming that failing to mobilise right-wing voters could let \u201cterror supporters\u201d into government.<\/p>\n

That night, he told supporters \u201cJewish settlements will be established in Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n

What the results show:\u00a0<\/strong>Religious Zionism is on course for six seats, with 4.78 percent.<\/p>\n

Yousef Jabareen, Joint List: \u2018Change comes through Jewish-Arab partnership, a true and equal partnership\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Pre-election:<\/strong>\u00a0In August, he stated that only \u201ca large and strong Joint List will work with all its might to send the Netanyahu\/Ben-Gvir\/Smotrich government home\u201d, according to The Jerusalem Post.<\/p>\n

Election day, night:<\/strong> In a video statement, he said Netanyahu knew \u201cwe can put an end to his bloody reign.\u201d<\/p>\n

Post-election:<\/strong> He wrote on X\u00a0 that his party was ready for the \u201cousting of the Netanyahu government\u201d, which he called one of \u201cbloodshed\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cAgainst a politics of supremacy, racism, and exclusion, we offer a completely different alternative. The change comes through Jewish-Arab partnership, a true and equal partnership,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

What the results show: <\/strong>The Joint List is on course for 12 seats with 9.14 percent, making it the third-largest party by vote share.<\/p>\n

\"Yousef
Yousef Jabareen at the alliance\u2019s campaign headquarters in Nazareth [File: AFP]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mansour Abbas, Ra\u2019am: Netanyahu uses \u2018scare tactic to mobilise right-wing voters\u2019<\/h2>\n

Election day, night:<\/strong> In July, Abbas set Ra\u2019am a goal of at least seven seats, enough, he argued, to make it the balance of power in a \u201cgovernment of change\u201d.<\/p>\n

Election day:<\/strong> He hit back at Netanyahu\u2019s posts about Palestinian citizens of Israel, stating in a video that he was \u201clying and inciting against Ra\u2019am, using it as a scare tactic to mobilise right-wing voters and drive them to the polls\u201d.<\/p>\n

What the results show:\u00a0<\/strong>Ra\u2019am is on course for eight seats, with 6.09 percent, beating his target of seven.<\/p>\n

\"Mansour
Mansour Abbas in Nazareth, northern Israel [File: AFP]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Avigdor Lieberman, Yisrael Beiteinu: \u2018We will reach 61 seats\u2019<\/h2>\n

Pre-election:<\/strong> On October 15, he claimed: \u201cWe will reach 61 seats or more for the change bloc.\u201d<\/p>\n

Election day:<\/strong> He urged patience, saying on Friday, \u201cwe\u2019ll be able to talk about a much better and more optimistic picture.\u201d<\/p>\n

What the results show: <\/strong> Yisrael Beiteinu is on course for seven seats, with 5.93 percent.<\/p>\n

\"JERUSALEM,
Avigdor Lieberman speaks at the start of a Yisrael Beiteinu party meeting in Jerusalem, Israel [File: Amir Levy\/Getty]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Yair Lapid, Together: Netanyahu is \u2018busy fear-mongering\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Pre-election:<\/strong> In September, he posted a statement which said, \u201cNetanyahu ignored every warning before October 7, and now, 28 days before the election, he\u2019s suddenly busy fear-mongering.\u201d<\/p>\n

Election day:<\/strong> He declared victory, stating, \u201cThe Netanyahu bloc has suffered a crushing defeat.\u201d<\/p>\n

What the results show:<\/strong> Together, which he co-leads with Bennett, is on course for 12 seats, with 9.07 percent.<\/p>\n

\"RA'ANANA
Yair Lapid speaks during an election campaign [File: Amir Levy\/Getty]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Israel\u2019s parliamentary election on Tuesday produced no clear winner, with nearly 90 percent of ballots counted and both major political blocs falling short of the 61 seats needed to form a government. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s bloc is on course to win 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset, while the opposition bloc led by…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_templately_pack_id":"","_templately_imported_at":"","_templately_source":"","_templately_import_session_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12278","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-international-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t