The Israel election on October 27, 2026, is testing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s support in Dimona, a longtime Likud stronghold where some former party loyalists are campaigning for his rival Gadi Eisenkot.

Key Takeaways

  • Half of Dimona voters backed Likud in the 2022 election.
  • Polling has suggested Netanyahu’s coalition could lose its majority, but Eisenkot has no clear path to power.

Israel election campaign targets Likud voters

In Dimona, in the Negev Desert, residents backing Eisenkot’s centrist Yashar party are going door to door to persuade voters to turn away from Likud. The race has tightened as election day approaches, with Yashar and Likud neck-and-neck in polls.

Michal Elmalem Abu, a city council member elected from Likud who now leads Eisenkot’s local campaign, said the opportunity lies with undecided voters who believe the country is in crisis and are open to persuasion. Other residents remain loyal to Netanyahu.

A divided electorate

The vote will be Israel’s first since the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023, which was followed by war in Gaza and fighting involving Hamas’s allies in Lebanon and Iran. Likud’s popularity fell after the security breach, and polls for months have predicted that Netanyahu’s right-wing, far-right and ultra-Orthodox coalition would lose its majority.

Data collected by the Israel Democracy Institute’s Viterbi Family Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research indicate that 13% of Israeli voters remain undecided. Among those who voted for Likud in 2022, 55% say they will support it again, while 15% say they will back parties aligned against Netanyahu, including 8% for Yashar.

Eisenkot, a former military chief of staff and the child of Moroccan immigrants, has a background that appeals to some traditional Likud voters, political scientist Amotz Asa-El said. Netanyahu has also campaigned in Dimona, pointing to development under Likud governments.

Next milestone

Israelis are due to vote on October 27.

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