Israel will hold national elections on October 27, the parliament said | Political Affairs

Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, has confirmed that he will resume his post.

National elections will be held in Israel on October 27, the latest legally allowed date, the vote is seen as a referendum on the Prime Minister. Benjamin Netanyahu leadership since the start of the devastating war in Gaza.

Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, announced the election date for Sunday. The Knesset is due to hold its final session on Friday, making Netanyahu’s far-right government the first in half a century to complete a full four-year term.

“Since the current Knesset is expected to complete its work and the next election has already been set by law on October 27, without the intention of shortening the term of the parliament, there is no reason to enact the Law to Dissolve the Knesset permanently,” the parliament said.

Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, confirmed in June that he would run in the upcoming election. The 76-year-old has experienced it growing opposition since Hamas attacked on October 7, 2023 – the deadliest attack in Israel’s history. Critics blame Netanyahu for security failures that allowed forces from Gaza to breach Israel’s border security and take 251 people.

Political competition

Former Israeli army chief Gadi Eisenkot is Netanyahu’s main rival. According to a survey published on Thursday by Channel 13, an Israeli journalist, Yashar Eisenkot’s party is slightly ahead of Netanyahu’s Likud.

Eisenkot previously served in Netanyahu’s defense ministry, resigning in June 2024 after saying the government had “totally failed” to achieve its goals in Gaza. His son was killed at the start of Israel’s civil war in December 2023.

The government wants to pass a number of laws before parliament goes into recess on Friday. Netanyahu hopes the legislation will bolster his election hopes.

Among the proposals are legislation to reform the judiciary and a ban on the arrest of Orthodox Jews who evade military service.

Netanyahu’s critics point to his handling of the war as evidence that he is no longer fit for office. Nearly three years into Israel’s invasion of Gaza, Hamas has not been destroyed as promised, while Israel has been accused of genocide by several of the world’s leading human rights organizations.

Netanyahu is also on trial for corruption and could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted. Critics accuse him of using his position as prime minister to evade justice.

Yossi Mekelberg, a senior adviser at Chatham House, a London-based think tank, told Al Jazeera that the October election will be the most important in Israel’s history.

“Between the domestic and international crisis, the last three and a half years have been very busy and often wrong,” Mekelberg said.

“From Gaza to the West Bank, Iran and Lebanon, these issues have not ended. Israel’s relationship with the rest of the world, including the United States, has been damaged. Day by day, the government is introducing laws that seriously damage the democratic foundations of the country of Israel,” he said.

“This will be the most important election in my opinion since the founding of Israel in 1948, and it will also be the most dangerous.”