Far from fringe: How Israel’s mainstream parties vote with the far right

Israelis caput to the polls connected October 27 successful the archetypal predetermination since the genocide successful Gaza and the wars connected Lebanon and Iran, a ballot wide seen arsenic a referendum connected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s rule.

Since the commencement of the warfare connected Gaza successful October 2023, Israel’s parliament, known arsenic the Knesset, has passed oregon precocious a question of laws and motions affecting Palestinians, from rejecting their statehood and backing annexation of the occupied West Bank to cutting disconnected the assistance they receive.

Israel’s Jewish-led absorption casts itself arsenic the alternate to Netanyahu’s right-wing government, but erstwhile it comes to Palestinians, the 2 often ballot as one.

What bash near and close mean successful Israel?

Left and close are the astir communal mode of mapping wherever parties basal connected a governmental spectrum. The near mostly favours much authorities spending and is much wide connected migration and number rights. The close mostly favours little taxes, tighter borders and a cohesive nationalist identity.

In Israel, the labels enactment differently. They are defined little by economics than by the struggle with Palestinians. Broadly, the near has been associated with territorial compromise and negotiations, and the close with opposing a Palestinian authorities and supporting the maturation of amerciable settlements.

Israel’s governmental spectrum arsenic a full has shifted right, with once-fringe positions connected Palestinians present precise overmuch the mainstream view. According to Palestinian governmental expert Ehab Jabareen, overmuch of Jewish Israeli authorities present works from “assumptions that would person been treated arsenic right-wing a procreation ago”.

The illustration beneath shows mostly wherever each enactment sits connected that spectrum today.

(Al Jazeera)

Israel’s parties and coalitions, explained

No enactment has ever won an outright bulk successful Israel’s Knesset.

To govern, a premier curate needs astatine slightest 61 of its 120 seats, which means gathering a conjugation of smaller parties, often with competing demands. That gives tiny parties outsized leverage: if 1 walks out, the authorities tin fall.

(Al Jazeera)

Netanyahu’s outgoing coalition

After the November 2022 election, Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud, the largest enactment with 32 seats, formed a 64-seat coalition. Its partners were 2 ultra-Orthodox parties, Shas and United Torah Judaism, and the far-right Religious Zionism alliance, a associated database of the Religious Zionism and Otzma Yehudit parties. It was Israel’s astir right-wing authorities to date.

The far-right leaders are among the astir almighty figures successful government. Bezalel Smotrich, caput of Religious Zionism, is concern curate and besides holds authorization implicit civilian affairs successful the occupied West Bank, including colony planning.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich holds a representation that shows the E1 colony task during a quality league adjacent the amerciable Israeli colony of Maale Adumim, successful the occupied West Bank, August 14, 2025 [Ohad Zwigenberg/AP]

Itamar Ben-Gvir, caput of Otzma Yehudit, is nationalist information minister, successful complaint of the police. He and Smotrich person some pushed for annexation and colony expansion, and some person utilized the menace of quitting to signifier authorities policy.

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir speaks during a league arsenic Israel’s parliament passes a instrumentality making the decease punishment a default condemnation for Palestinians convicted successful subject courts of deadly attacks, astatine the Knesset, Israel’s parliament successful Jerusalem, March 30, 2026 [Oren Ben Hakoon/Reuters]

The conjugation has shifted repeatedly since. Benny Gantz’s National Unity confederation joined aft the October 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas and near successful June 2024, and Gideon Sa’ar’s New Hope joined that September. Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit discontinue implicit a “ceasefire” successful Gaza successful January 2025 and returned 2 months later. In July 2025, United Torah Judaism (UTJ) walked retired implicit a stalled measure to exempt ultra-Orthodox men from subject service. Shas, different enactment representing ultra-Orthodox voters, withdrew its ministers astatine the aforesaid time, but stayed successful the coalition.

When parliament dissolved successful July up of the October 27 election, the conjugation held 60 seats: Likud (32), Shas (11), Otzma Yehudit (7), Religious Zionism (6) and New Hope (4).

The opposition

Opposition successful Israel does not mean left. Yesh Atid, led by Yair Lapid, was the largest enactment successful the outgoing Knesset, with 24 seats. Benny Gantz’s Blue and White was second. Both are centrist and person campaigned against a judicial overhaul projected by Netanyahu and his conjugation of spiritual and nationalist partners.

Yisrael Beiteinu, led by Avigdor Lieberman, is secular and close wing. Lieberman is simply a erstwhile Netanyahu state who opposes draught exemptions for ultra-Orthodox men.

Labor, present portion of the Democrats, is the lone Jewish enactment successful the outgoing Knesset that openly backs a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict.

The Arab-led parties, which correspond Palestinian citizens of Israel, disagree successful ideology but stock absorption to the occupation. Ra’am, led by Mansour Abbas, made past successful 2021 arsenic the archetypal Arab enactment to participate an Israeli government. Hadash-Ta’al, led by Ayman Odeh and Ahmad Tibi, has ne'er joined one. It is moving successful this predetermination arsenic portion of the Joint List, alongside Balad.

How has each enactment voted?

Al Jazeera analysed the 10 astir consequential Knesset votes affecting Palestinians betwixt July 2024 and March 2026.

In Israel, a measure indispensable walk 3 votes successful the Knesset to go law. Most votes request lone a elemental bulk of members present, and parties often enactment distant connected purpose, either to contradict a measure legitimacy oregon to debar going connected record. As a result, immoderate votes successful this investigation impact lone a fraction of the 120-seat parliament. Some bills passed by wide margins, portion others scraped done by a fistful of votes.

What the information shows is that the near hardly exists. The lone accordant absorption came from the Arab-led parties and the four-seat Democrats, which unneurotic held 14 of the 120 seats successful the past Knesset.

The results are shown successful the graphic below, with a summary of the cardinal votes beneath it.

(Al Jazeera)

‘No’ to Palestinian statehood

In February 2024, the Knesset backed a furniture connection against unilateral designation of a Palestinian authorities by 99 votes to 11.

The coalition, Yisrael Beiteinu and astir members of Yesh Atid and National Unity – led by Gantz and comprising members of his Blue and White and Sa’ar’s New Hope enactment – voted successful favour. Labor boycotted the vote, portion lone the Arab-led parties voted against.

The signifier repeated 5 months later. In July 2024, a solution calling a Palestinian authorities an “existential danger” passed 68 to nine. National Unity, which by past had mislaid Sa’ar’s New Hope faction, joined the conjugation and Yisrael Beiteinu successful favour, Yesh Atid and Labor stayed away, and again lone the Arab-led parties voted against.

Ahead of the election, the Jerusalem News Syndicate asked Israeli politicians from crossed the governmental spectrum, “Does your enactment enactment the constitution of a Palestinian state?” Every person featured said “no”.

The Knesset’s votes bespeak the nationalist that elects it. Israelis’ presumption of Palestinian statehood had been declining for a decade, and it hardened sharply aft October 7.

In outpouring 2023, 35 percent of Israelis told the Pew Research Center that Israel and a Palestinian authorities could coexist peacefully, down from 50 percent successful 2013. By 2024, months aft the attack, that had fallen to 26 percent. It reached 21 percent successful 2025 and 17 percent successful 2026, the archetypal clip a bulk of Israelis person explicitly said coexistence is impossible.

On annexation of the occupied West Bank

In July 2025, a nonbinding declaration calling for the annexation of the occupied West Bank, including the Jordan Valley, passed 71 to 13. Yesh Atid and National Unity boycotted it. Labor joined the Arab-led parties successful voting against the measure.

When annexation came to an existent bill, the lines blurred further. On October 22, 2025, during a United States vice-presidential visit, a measure that would use Israeli instrumentality to the occupied West Bank passed successful a preliminary speechmaking by a azygous vote, 25 to 24:

• For: Religious Zionism, Otzma Yehudit and Yisrael Beiteinu
• Split: United Torah Judaism, 4 to 3
• Absent: Shas and New Hope
• Against: Yesh Atid, Labor and the Arab-led parties

Likud officially opposed the bill, with lone lawmaker Yuli Edelstein voting for it. Had UTJ’s 4 votes successful favour gone the different way, the measure would person failed.

UNRWA ban

The prohibition connected UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, drew the widest enactment of immoderate binding instrumentality successful the analysis.

Set up by the UN General Assembly successful 1949 aft the Nakba – oregon “catastrophe”, an Arabic connection referring to the taste cleansing of Palestine successful 1948 –  UNRWA provides schools, healthcare, nutrient assistance and different basal services to astir six cardinal registered Palestinian refugees successful Gaza, the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

In October 2024, the archetypal of 2 bills barring the bureau from operating successful territory Israel considers sovereign, including occupied East Jerusalem, passed 92 to 10. The second, cutting disconnected each authorities interaction with UNRWA, passed 87 to nine. Both laws took effect successful January 2025, contempt warnings from the UN and Western governments that they would cripple assistance operations.

Netanyahu’s ruling coalition, Yisrael Beiteinu, Yesh Atid and National Unity each voted successful favour, arsenic did the Labor members of parliament who were present. The Arab-led parties were the lone ones to ballot against.

The predetermination whitethorn alteration who governs Israel, but not needfully however its parliament votes connected Palestinians, particularly arsenic the electorate itself moves further right.