Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and the ultra-Orthodox Shas party finalized their candidate lists ahead of the October 27 Knesset elections, submitting them by the official Tuesday evening deadline. The submissions capped a period of negotiations, alliance talks, and internal party debates ahead of the vote.
Within Likud, Netanyahu exercised his expanded authority to appoint eight reserved candidates within the top 30 positions on the list, a move confirmed by the Likud Central Committee last month amid tensions over changes to the traditional primary process. The party’s primary earlier this year positioned former Foreign Minister Eli Cohen in the second spot behind Netanyahu, with Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, and Transportation Minister Miri Regev following in third through fifth places. Defense Minister Israel Katz and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar took the sixth and seventh slots.
Netanyahu selected several notable figures for reserved slots, including Channel 14 commentator Yaakov Bardugo at No. 11, Talik Gvili—mother of Ran Gvili, a border police officer kidnapped and killed in Gaza on October 7—at No. 9, and Itzik Bonzel, whose son died fighting in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, at No. 29. Reservist Elisha Madan, who lost both legs and helped found a West Bank settlement, was placed at No. 15. Attorney David Peter, known for representing the party and its ministers in legal matters, was assigned the 16th slot.
Other candidates on the Likud list include Maj. (res.) Dror Amos, chairman of the Haifa Religious Council; former ministers Michael Malkieli and Elur Busso; and several incumbent Knesset members such as Yoav Ben Tzur, Haim Biton, Moshe Abutbul, Yosef Taieb, Yonatan Mishraki, Erez Malul, and former MK Semyon Moshishvili.
Meanwhile, the Shas party faced internal friction between party chairman Aryeh Deri and the Shas Council of Torah Sages, led by former Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef. Despite Deri’s attempt to remove Yoav Ben Tzur from the party slate, the Council insisted he remain after Ben Tzur lobbied on his own behalf. This clash was described as a setback for Deri. Earlier this year, Deri met with Yosef to resolve tensions following reports that Yosef discouraged votes for Shas and urged efforts to diminish the right-wing bloc. The meeting led to an agreement granting Yosef increased influence in Shas’ decision-making processes alongside Deri.
Among other parties, the Arab-Jewish party A Place for Us All announced it would not participate in the upcoming elections after failing to forge alliances with other groups. Meanwhile, Israel’s anti-Netanyahu bloc remains divided as Together and Yashar parties confirmed they would run separately in the 2026 Knesset elections.
Within the right-wing camp, Religious Zionism chairman Bezalel Smotrich announced that efforts to unify with the Amcha Yisrael party, led by former Israel Defense Forces general Ofer Winter, had collapsed.
Netanyahu framed the upcoming elections as a choice between a strong right-wing government under his leadership and a potential left-wing coalition involving Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot and Arab parties. The stage is set for a competitive electoral cycle marked by both party consolidation and fragmentation across Israel’s political spectrum.