Israel holds elections on October 27th. This parliament will complete a full four-year term

Israel is scheduled to hold parliamentary elections on October 27th. This will be the first general election held by Israel since the Hamas attack on southern Israel in 2023, and the subsequent wars that broke out in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon and Iran.

Reuters reported that since the Israeli parliament voted to dissolve in May, the date of the election has remained unclear, raising the possibility of an early general election. However, the chairman of the ruling coalition in Israel, Katz, announced on Sunday (July 12th) during a legislative meeting in the parliament that the parliamentary election will be held on October 27th. This current parliament will complete its full four-year term and will not trigger an early general election due to its dissolution.

The Israel Times reported that this would be the first time in Israel's recent history that parliamentary elections are held as scheduled rather than earlier. The Israeli government rarely manages to fulfill its four-year legal term in full.

A series of polls indicate that the ruling coalition of nationalist and religious parties led by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu will lose in the general election. Although his political opponents have not yet found a clear path to power and the political landscape may still change.

Netanyahu returned to power in 2022, leading the most right-wing government in Israel to date. However, less than a year later, the surprise attack by Hamas wiped out Netanyahu's credibility in the field of national security. Polls showed that many people were dissatisfied with Netanyahu's performance in the Iran war.

Netanyahu is the longest-serving leader of Israel and has proven to be the unshakable "rock" in the Israeli political arena.

Israeli law stipulates that parliamentary elections should be held every four years. This current parliament will adjourn on July 17th and enter the election period.

Xinhua News Agency reported that the leader of the Kadima Party and former Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, Gadi Eisenkot, officially announced the launch of the parliamentary election campaign on June 30. Polls show that the Kadima Party's support rate is closing in on that of Netanyahu's Likud Party. Two former prime ministers, Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, have already formed a coalition party called "Unity", also seeking to defeat Netanyahu.