Ballot boxes open for the Knesset elections in Israel...the most prominent contenders

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On Tuesday, Israelis began voting in the first general elections held since the attack on October 7, 2023. About 7.3 million people are eligible to vote.

Meanwhile, the latest opinion polls published before the elections showed a convergence in results between current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the longest serving prime minister in Israeli history, and his main competitor from the center-right movement, Gadi Eisenkot, according to Agence France-Presse.

Most polling stations are scheduled to close at 10:00 pm local time (20:00 GMT).

As for the most prominent parties competing for seats in the Israeli Parliament (Knesset), the number of which decreased to 36 after two parties withdrew from the race, they are:

A right-wing party led by Netanyahu.

Current number of seats in the Knesset: 32 out of 120.

He has held power almost uninterrupted since 2009, and combines nationalism with economic liberalism.

According to opinion polls, Netanyahu is the most popular candidate within Likud.

Netanyahu (77 years old) grew up in the United States and was famous for his ability to maneuver politically and form government coalitions, but several opinion polls place the Likud Party slightly behind.

In addition, he faces severe criticism for his inability to prevent the Hamas attack on October 7th. Since then, he has led extensive military operations, first in the Gaza Strip, then against Hezbollah and then Iran in cooperation with the United States.

A centrist party led by former Chief of Army Staff Gadi Eisenkot, who served as a minister without portfolio in the Netanyahu government between October 2023 and June 2024. It is a new party that does not have any seats in the Knesset.

Eisenkot, known for his calm style and few words, has emerged as the main contender seeking to oust Netanyahu. He founded the party in 2025, focusing on Israel's "Jewish and democratic" identity and uniting Israelis after the sharp divisions that Israel witnessed during the Netanyahu era.

He surrounded himself with former representatives from the left and right, in addition to figures such as the former head of the Internal Security Agency (Shin Bet), Yoram Cohen, and the former head of Netanyahu’s office, Yoav Horowitz.

While he pledged to end the exemption from military service granted to religiously extremist Jews, a policy that Netanyahu supports and displeases many secular Israelis.

A center-right coalition led by former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett (2021-2022), a businessman and son of American immigrants.

Bennett included opposition leader Yair Lapid in his party, who heads the centrist Yesh Atid (There is a Future) party, which currently holds 24 seats in the Knesset.

While the two politicians previously cooperated in forming the government between 2021 and 2022, they decided to run in the elections together on one list after they agreed to oppose Netanyahu.

Bennett describes himself as a right-winger who has previously been associated with the settlement movement in the West Bank, but in the current elections he presents himself as a centrist, secular politician, while his partner Lapid presents himself as a centrist and secularist.

A left-wing party led by former Deputy Chief of Staff Yair Golan. He currently has 4 seats in the Knesset (under the banner of the Labor Party).

Golan brought together the Labor Party, which is historically the most prominent left-wing party in Israel, with the Meretz Party, which failed to cross the electoral threshold to enter the Knesset in 2022.

The Democrats are the only non-Arab party that supports the two-state solution to settle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

A religious extremist party led by former Minister Aryeh Deri. Number of seats in the Knesset: 11 seats.

The party was founded in 1984 to represent Sephardic Jewish voters whose origins are in the Middle East and North Africa.

The party asserts that it represents the poorest groups in society, and was Netanyahu's favorite ally in his coalition governments.

The party strongly opposes the recruitment of religiously extremist Jews into the army.

A far-right party led by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir. Number of seats in the Knesset: 6 seats.

Netanyahu included this party in his government, after it had previously been excluded due to its extreme positions.

Ben Gvir has repeatedly sparked international outrage due to his calls for violence. He recently called for the killing of between 30 and 40 Palestinians every night in the Gaza Strip.

The party places security issues at the top of its priorities and calls for the annexation of the West Bank.

The party, led by Ben Gvir, also pushed for the adoption of a law allowing the death penalty to be carried out against Palestinians from the occupied West Bank convicted of attacks classified as “terrorism” against Israel.

A far-right party led by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.

Number of seats in the Knesset: 7 seats.

The party is one of the far-right components of the Israeli government, and calls for the annexation of the entire occupied West Bank to Israel, and the strengthening of the Jewish religious character of the state.

Smotrich used his position as Finance Minister to push settlement expansion and withhold tax revenues owed to the Palestinian Authority.

An extremist party led by Yaakov Asher. Number of seats in the Knesset: 7.

The party represents religious Ashkenazi Jews whose origins go back to Europe.

It also works to prevent the imposition of military service on students in Jewish religious institutions.

It is led by former Defense, Foreign and Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman. Number of seats in the Knesset: 6.

Lieberman, a former director of Netanyahu's office, founded the National Secular Party in 1999. It is considered an opposition party and calls for the separation of religion from the state.

He adopts strict positions on the Palestinians, but adheres to secularism.

It is a nationalist leftist alliance of 3 parties: the Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (Hadash), the National Democratic Rally (Balad), and the Arab Movement for Change led by Youssef Jabareen. Number of seats in the Knesset: 5.

The list focuses on defending Israel's Arab minority and supporting the two-state solution.

An Arab party with a religious orientation close to the Islamic Movement, led by Mansour Abbas. Number of seats in the Knesset: 5.

Abbas calls for equal rights for the Arab minority within Israel.

Second on the list is former Deputy Head of the National Security Service Yoav Segalovich, who wants to combat crime in Arab society.

Abbas calls for ensuring equal rights for the Arab minority in Israel, which constitutes about 20% of the population.