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Israel Votes2026
Last updated: August 18, 2026

Key Figures

Most major political figures are covered on their party’s page. This page covers people whose current relevance goes beyond — or sits outside — party leadership: the head of state, the courts, the military, and the officials actually running the election itself, alongside the politicians in the news.

Benjamin Netanyahu — Prime Minister, Likud

Israel’s longest-serving prime minister (current term since December 2022; also served 1996–1999 and 2009–2021). His ongoing corruption trial covers three cases:

Netanyahu denies all wrongdoing and describes the cases as politically motivated. Prosecutors completed their final cross-examination of him on June 16, 2026, and his own testimony concluded June 24, 2026, after 98 hearings over 18 months — the trial now moves to further witness hearings. The judges have separately suggested prosecutors drop the Case 4000 bribery charge specifically; his defense says if it stays, the trial could run into 2028. He submitted a formal pardon request on November 30, 2025 (via attorney Amit Hadad). He also faces an outstanding International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued in November 2024.

Isaac Herzog — President

A largely ceremonial head of state, but with two concretely important roles right now: deciding on Netanyahu’s pardon request, and — after the October election — assigning the mandate to form the next government. He has so far rebuffed the pardon request “at least for now,” instead encouraging plea-deal/arbitration talks, and has said he’ll weigh the decision solely by “the good of the state.” US President Donald Trump has publicly pushed for a pardon, adding an unusual layer of foreign pressure to the decision.

Isaac Amit — President of the Supreme Court

Heads Israel’s judiciary and authored the High Court’s unanimous (7–0) December 14, 2025 ruling annulling the government’s dismissal of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, which also fined the government roughly ₪90,000 (about $28,000) in petitioners’ costs. As Supreme Court President during a period when the court has repeatedly been in direct conflict with the government over the judicial overhaul and the AG’s status, he’s one of the more consequential non-elected figures in this cycle regardless of how the election itself turns out.

Gali Baharav-Miara — Attorney General

The government voted to dismiss her; the High Court struck the dismissal down 7–0 on December 14, 2025, ruling the process procedurally flawed (the government had removed a required step involving a public-professional selection committee). She remains in office. The government describes her as an obstructionist blocking its agenda; critics describe her as one of the last independent checks on executive power. Itamar Ben Gvir (Otzma Yehudit) has made her removal a condition of rejoining any future coalition. (Sources indicate more than one dismissal attempt and court intervention across late 2025–2026; treat the exact sequence as evolving.)

Eyal Zamir — IDF Chief of Staff

Israel’s top military officer since March 5, 2025, the 24th person to hold the post. Not a political figure and not a candidate, but a relevant name to know: the military’s posture on the Haredi conscription dispute — the issue that triggered this entire election — runs through his office, and the IDF’s conduct in the Gaza/Lebanon/Iran-linked conflicts is a live topic in every bloc’s platform.

Noam Sohlberg — Chairman, Central Elections Committee

The Supreme Court justice who chairs the committee actually administering the October 27 vote — ballot rules, candidate-list eligibility, and this cycle’s new ban on parties tracking in real time who has voted. A distinctly non-partisan role, though the committee itself has seen some turnover this cycle (its director-general resigned and was replaced by an acting chief in May 2026); day-to-day election administration is a separate story from the political horse-race covered elsewhere on this site.

Former generals and security officials now leading parties

A defining feature of the 2026 field is the number of former top IDF and security officials who left uniformed service to lead parties — a pattern widely attributed in Israeli political coverage to the fallout from October 7, 2023, though commentators disagree on exactly what that fallout signifies.