Israel’s election: The main issues in the words of the leading candidates

Ahead of Israel’s election on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, the leading candidates have not challenged the war in Gaza launched after the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack or the subsequent conflicts, including the war with Iran. Most have also offered no clear path to a two-state solution or an equitable settlement with Palestinians in territory occupied by Israel. The election’s main divide is domestic politics: Benjamin Netanyahu’s hard-right government would operate without the judicial oversight he opposes, while his disparate opponents promise a broadly similar policy agenda within the law and without the current coalition’s most extreme elements.