Religious Zionist Party

Eisenkot leads Netanyahu but deadlock looms, election polls show two days before Israelis vote

The average gap between the two major blocs stands at 4.5 seats, with neither reaching the 61-seat majority needed to form a government.

(L-R): Yashar head Gadi Eisenkot; Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
THE POLARIZING POSTER: On JCT’s Machon Tal campus.

Unwanted endorsement: Political ad causes uproar at Jerusalem's Lev Academic Center

 A plenum session at the assembly hall of the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament in Jerusalem on March 19, 2025.

With five days until elections, Netanyahu shifts strategies to courting right-wing votes - analysis

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich

Smotrich says Netanyahu, Ben-Gvir previously backed Knesset coalition with Ra'am that he shut down


'Not Ben-Gvir': Next defense minister should come from Likud, Netanyahu tells ‘Post’

"It's gonna be our government. We decide what the policy is,” Netanyahu told The Jerusalem Post. He did not name a candidate for defense minister.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talks with The Jerusalem Post, October 21, 2026.

Smotrich presses Ofer Winter to drop Knesset run in exchange for Defense Ministry appointment

The finance minister additionally stated that he would offer Winter a directorate for haredi (ultra-Orthodox) enlistment and integration into the workforce. 

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends a press conference at the Finance Ministry in Jerusalem, July 1, 2026.

Winter vows to block haredi draft ultimatum to Netanyahu, says People of Israel will stay in race

Winter's comments came as he stressed his party would remain in the running amid ongoing pressure to resign from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and RZP's Bezalel Smotrich.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L), Ofer Winter.

'Not a Zionist, or religious': Bennett bashes Smotrich's opposition to enforcing haredi draft

"How is he not ashamed to call himself a religious Zionist?" Bennett wondered. "He has nothing to do with Zionism or religion."

Former Israeli prime minister and B'Yachad party chairman Naftali Bennett speaks during the “Game-Changing Generation” National Youth Conference at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem, October 11, 2026.

The battle for Israel: As Netanyahu rallies the Right, Eisenkot makes his move for power

NATIONAL AFFAIRS: As Israel's election approaches, Netanyahu fights to bring right-wing voters back to Likud, while Eisenkot seeks to strengthen his claim to lead the next government.

AN ELECTION billboard featuring Gadi Eisenkot towers over campaign posters for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Eisenkot leads Netanyahu, but both blocs without clear path to 61-seat majority - poll

The polling average puts Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc, including Ofer Winter's People of Israel party, and the Zionist opposition at approximately 52 seats each.

An election campaign poster featuring Yashar party chairman Gadi Eisenkot is displayed on a bus in Jerusalem, October 5, 2026

Netanyahu, Smotrich hold conference to rally right-wing voters, excluding Ben-Gvir

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was not invited to the conference, named "Saving the Right," which included dozens of Religious Zionist rabbis, along with heads of yeshivas.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich at the Saving the Right Conferance in Jerusalem, Thursday, October 8, 2026.

Netanyahu's Likud, Smotrich's RZP sign surplus-vote agreement ahead of elections

Likud signed a surplus vote agreement with Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionist Party, while Otzma Yehudit accused Netanyahu’s party of sidelining Ben-Gvir.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attending the Knesset, February 7, 2024; illustrative.

Will Israel's Arab parties be banned from the election? The legal fight explained

A fifth of Israel's voters could be left unrepresented weeks before polls open. Sarah Ben-Nun unpacks the committee's votes, the A-G's split stance, and the Supreme Court's next move. Watch now.

Members of the Joint Arab List Ahmad Tibi, Sami Abu Shehadeh and Yousef Jabareen arrive to submit their party’s candidate list to the Central Elections Committee at the Knesset in Jerusalem, September 8, 2026; illustrative.

WATCH: Strock says Israel will establish settlements across West Bank Areas A, B as sanctions mount

In addition, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said he would make no distinction between Areas A, B, and C if appointed defense minister.

National Missions Minister Orit Strock seen at a faction meeting at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, February 17, 2025