The 2026 Israeli Elections and the Tasks Ahead: Communist Party of Israel
A voting booth containing official paper ballot slips of the 2026 Israeli elections -- Artem.G, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Nov 7, 2026
To our comrades, partners and friends,
Israel's elections on 27 October 2026 resulted in a clear defeat for Netanyahu. The Arab Palestinian masses in Israel came out to vote in historic numbers, defied incitement and attempts at exclusion, and helped deny Netanyahu's camp a majority. Netanyahu’s block fell from 68 to 53 seats, while the parties representing the Palestinian citizens of Israel rose from 10 to 19 seats. However, the path to forming an alternative government is by no means clear.
This letter reviews the road to the election, the results, the possible paths to a new government, and the positions adopted by the leaderships of the Communist Party of Israel (CPI) and al-Jabha/Hadash at their joint session of 31 October. It also carries our statement on the political persecution of MK Ayman Odeh, and closes with the tasks ahead.
The road to the election
The coalition's collapse came against a deeper backdrop that shaped the mood of the electorate:
The absence of any political horizon: no path toward an end to the war and the occupation, and none toward a just peace.
The judicial coup pursued since 2023, which has weakened the courts and the checks on government power.
The attack of October 7, and its use as a pretext for aggression in the region, including US-Israeli imperialist wars on Iran, Lebanon and destabilization of the region.
The genocide in Gaza, and the settler terror in the West Bank, where Jewish terrorism has gone unchecked under the protection of the government.
Right-wing incitement against the Palestinians in Israel, which grew steadily and made Arab citizens a routine target of the government and its partners.
The rising cost of living in Israel, which has squeezed Arab and Jewish households alike.
The unleashed crime organizations within the Arab Palestinian society; since December 2022 almost 800 Palestinian citizens were murdered by crime organizations, with no serious measures taken by the police, which falls under the responsibility of Ben Gvir as the minister of Interior Security.
In those months Hadash renewed its leadership and its alliances. Yousef Jabareen was chosen to head the list, and after difficult negotiations Hadash, Ta'al and Balad re-established the Joint List weeks before the vote. This answered a demand from our public for unity in the face of the government of Netanyahu, Ben-Gvir and Smotrich.
The attempt to exclude Arab voters
In September the Central Elections Committee, a political organ controlled by the governing coalition, voted to disqualify the Joint List and Ra'am, together with our comrade MK Ofer Cassif and Balad's Sami Abu Shehadeh. On 2 October the Supreme Court unanimously overturned the disqualification of both lists and, by seven votes to two, allowed Cassif to run. Abu Shehadeh withdrew after the court signaled it favored his disqualification.
The attempt failed, but it set the tone of a campaign marked by incitement and intimidation.
The results
Neither bloc reaches the 61 seats needed for a majority. Netanyahu's bloc fell far below the 68 it held at its peak in the last Knesset.
Bloc or list | Seats | Note |
Netanyahu's bloc | 53 | Down from a peak of 68 in the last Knesset |
The Change Bloc | 48 | Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar, B'Yachad, Yisrael Beytenu and The Democrats |
Joint List | 11 | Confidence of nearly half a million citizens |
Ra'am | 8 | Together with the Joint List, a record 19 for parties representing the Palestinian citizens of Israel |
In our assessment, the Arab masses imposed their political power, and their contribution was decisive in preventing a fascist government that includes Ben-Gvir and Smotrich. We also salute the Jewish democratic voters and forces who stood beside the Joint List against the racist current, in the struggle to create a different political and civil reality in Israel.
Scenarios for forming a government
President Herzog's announcement on who’s getting the mandate to form a government will be announced on Sunday, November 8, and the new Knesset is due to be sworn in on 10 November. Four scenarios stand out.
An Eisenkot-led government. The “Change Bloc” parties have stated they will recommend Eisenkot. With the 19 seats of the Joint List and Ra'am he has 67 recommendations and would almost certainly receive the first mandate: 28 days to form a coalition, with a possible 14-day extension. Without the parties representing the Palestinian citizens and the Jewish democratic forces, his bloc cannot reach 61. Eisenkot said he seeks the broadest possible "Zionist" government, which sits uneasily with this arithmetic.
A unity government with Netanyahu. Eisenkot has so far rejected serving under Netanyahu, including in a rotation arrangement. A reversal would entrench the very policies that brought the country to crisis, and would entirely discredit the anti-Netanyahu camp in the next elections, whether in a year or more.
A Netanyahu-led government. His bloc is eight seats short, and its cohesion, especially with the ultra-Orthodox parties, is no longer certain. This scenario is possible only if there will be defection from the counter bloc. This is the least likely path, but it cannot be ruled out.
New elections. If no coalition forms within the constitutional deadlines of 90-days, Israel returns to the polls. This is what Netanyahu desires and is aiming at. CPI and al-Jabha/Hadash will do everything within their power to prevent this and to translate the electoral results into the removal of the current government, while remaining ready for every eventuality - new elections included.
The position of the Joint List
These are times that call for a stand in order to oust Netanyahu and his fascist allies. Therefore, despite the incitement and the racism, the Joint List recommended Eisenkot to the Israeli president in order for the latter not have any excuse of calling for a unity government, and as a fulfillment of the will of over 500,000 Palestinian and Jewish voters who wish to see Netanyahu ousted.
The position of the Communist Party and Hadash
Toppling this government is a historic task. The danger posed by the Netanyahu-Ben-Gvir-Smotrich government goes beyond discrimination, home demolitions and the spread of crime and racism afflicting our communities. It is a government of war, extermination and displacement in Gaza, of deepening occupation and settlement, of unchecked settler terror in the West Bank, and of a drive to liquidate the Palestinian cause. Its continuation threatens the whole region, and the presence of Trump in the White House raises the danger further by offering cover for war, annexation and displacement. Hence, the results of the midterm elections in the US could hold positive prospectives regarding an alternation in US foreign policy especially in matters of supporting Israel’s continuous violations of international law in the Palestinian Occupied Territories and the region.
No illusions about the alternative. We do not sow illusions about the forces presenting themselves as the alternative, Eisenkot first among them, the father of the Dahiyya Doctrine. Another government will not automatically end the occupation, abandon military solutions, or recognize the Palestinian people's right to an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital. Yet this does not weaken the need to remove the current government, whose continuation risks completing its judicial coup and entrenching mechanisms of repression and exclusion that would be hard to reverse. Its fall could break the fascist trajectory and open wider space for Arab-Jewish political and mass struggle toward equality, social justice, an end to the occupation and peace between the two peoples, as well as stability in the region. We expect that a different government could bring political dynamics and struggle opportunities. That outcome will not come from a change of government alone. It requires our own independent, organized struggle.
A safety net for our people. We affirm the position put forward by the Joint List: a safety net for Arab citizens and for all vulnerable and marginalized groups, in exchange for any parliamentary action that could longer the days of an alternative government. In current circumstances we see no possibility of joining a government and bearing collective responsibility for policies we oppose. That is our independent choice, made on principle. It is fundamentally different from an attempt to impose our exclusion on national and racist grounds. The right of Arab citizens and their representatives to influence political decisions is full and equal, and it cannot be conditioned on surrendering their national identity or their democratic, anti-occupation positions.
Defending the integrity of the vote. Challenges to the integrity of voting in Arab towns, attacks on the high turnout, and intimidation of activists form a political campaign to delegitimize both our public and the outcome of its participation. We warn of Netanyahu and the extreme right’s attempts to reject the results as they are leading to their removal, and to inflame fascist incitement, including the use of the Shin Bet, as the head of this organ was personally appointed by Netanyahu, to persecute Arab political leaders, especially if an alternative government relies on the votes of Arab members of Knesset. This is an attempt to annul the voters' will.
Statement on the political persecution of MK Ayman Odeh
The Communist Party of Israel and Hadash condemn the campaign targeting MK Ayman Odeh. We regard it as an attempt to strike at the political leadership of the Arab public and at the democratic forces within Israel, and to intimidate them for their role in confronting the far-right government and working to bring it down.
The campaign is tied to Prime Minister Netanyahu's efforts to cast doubt on the election results and to incite against Arab society. Its aim is to delegitimize the will of the voters and obstruct the removal of the government. What disturbs Netanyahu and his partners is the strong turnout of Arab citizens at the polls and their insistence on exercising their right to political participation and influence. Instead of respecting that will, they seek to cast suspicion on the Arab vote and to use the security services to settle political scores and prolong the government's life.
In this context, we condemn the reports that the Shin Bet chief has asked to investigate Arab party leaders Ahmad Tibi, Sami Abu Shehadeh and Mansour Abbas. We view this as a dangerous escalation that targets Arab political representation and tries to turn legitimate political activity into a security matter. We also condemn the persecution of activists, most recently the arrest of journalist and activist Abed Abu Shehadeh, and we demand his immediate release and an end to the policy of intimidation and arrests.
The widening circle of targets, which now includes members of Knesset, party leaders and activists, shows that this goes beyond any one person. It strikes at the right of the Arab public to organize, to express itself and to take part in political life. The Arab public won its political rights through a long struggle. It will not allow them to become a favor granted by Netanyahu or withdrawn by the Shin Bet chief. These rights are fixed and do not depend on the approval or electoral calculations of the right.
Our position
We stand firmly with Comrade Ayman Odeh against political persecution and incitement.
We reject any attempt to delegitimize the Arab vote and to treat political activity as a security file.
We demand an end to political arrests and the release of Abed Abu Shehadeh.
We call on Arab and Jewish democratic forces to take a joint and resolute stand in defense of the voters' will and of democratic freedoms.
Meeting this escalation requires broader popular struggle and Arab-Jewish partnership alongside parliamentary work, and continued efforts to bring down the government of Netanyahu, Ben-Gvir and Smotrich.
The Joint List has issued a parallel statement along the same lines, affirming that no threats, investigations or intimidation campaigns will silence the Arab public or strip its political representation of legitimacy.
Tasks ahead
We are committed to preserving the Joint List, strengthening its unity and its connection to its constituency and supporters, and managing differences through dialogue and respect.
We will broaden the partnership against fascism beyond the Joint List's three components and parliamentary work, alongside the High Follow-Up Committee, local authorities, civil society and trade unions, youth and women's movements, and Jewish democratic forces. Our goal is a broad popular and political force that defends equality and the legitimacy of Arab participation, and links the fight against fascism to the struggle against the occupation and for a just peace.
We call on our partners among left parties and progressive movements to follow developments closely, to stand against the delegitimization of Arab citizens' political participation, and to stand with the struggle for peace, equality and democracy.
In solidarity,
International Relations Committee, The Communist Party of Israel
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