Israel election: wavering Likud voters become the prize as race tightens
Reuters reports that in Dimona, a Likud stronghold, voters are turning against Netanyahu before Tuesday's election, with polls showing a tight race.
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what happened
Reuters reports that in Dimona, a desert town in southern Israel long loyal to Likud, residents are campaigning for Benjamin Netanyahu's main rival, Gadi Eisenkot. The Tuesday vote is the first since Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack, and polls for months have shown Netanyahu's coalition losing its majority. The race has tightened, yet centrist Eisenkot also has no clear route to power.
According to the Israel Democracy Institute, about 13% of voters are still undecided. Only 55% of those who backed Likud in 2022 say they will vote for it again. Political scientist Amotz Asa-El told Reuters that Eisenkot, the son of Moroccan immigrants, could draw support from Likud's traditional Mizrahi base. Netanyahu still has strong backing in development-focused towns of the Negev.
why it matters
For markets, the key question is whether the government changes, since the coalition shapes Israel's economic and security policy. The result could shift investor expectations for Israeli assets, including equities and the shekel, but Reuters offers no forecast of the outcome.
market impact
Israeli assets: the election outcome shifts expectations for policy and investor sentiment
tags
instruments
sources
- Disenchanted Netanyahu supporters are prize of Israel election campaign — Reuters, 25 October 2026 at 07:00 UTC
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