Clock ticks down as parties still scrambling over final Knesset slates

The first day of filing has ended, and by 10 p.m. Tuesday — or midnight if the chairman of the Central Elections Committee extends the deadline — the final makeup of the party slates competing in the 2026 election should become clear. Six major parties have yet to submit their candidate lists. Some are waiting for additional candidates, others are still settling internal disputes, and at least one was forced only Monday to announce the replacement of a senior candidate. With the deadline approaching, here is where each party stands — and where last-minute surprises could still emerge. Likud Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling Likud party has endured several turbulent days over its candidate list, particularly the slots that the party leader is permitted to fill with handpicked candidates rather than primary winners. Netanyahu has delayed announcing those candidates despite a deadline imposed by Likud’s internal court and appears intent on withholding his decisions until close to the filing deadline. A meeting of the Likud Secretariat that was expected to approve the reserved slots and was originally scheduled for 11 a.m. Tuesday was postponed to 2 p.m. — and even that time was not considered final. Netanyahu has also struggled to recruit candidates for the reserved positions, and it remained unclear whom he would ultimately choose. High-tech entrepreneur Oren Dobronsky, whom Netanyahu had offered a reserved place in the top 10 of Likud’s slate, announced Monday night that he had decided not to run for the Knesset. United Torah Judaism United Torah Judaism, the Ashkenazi Haredi, or ultra-Orthodox, alliance made up of the Agudat Yisrael and Degel HaTorah parties, has undergone a dramatic shake-up in recent days, with its new slate expected to look markedly different from the previous one. Longtime party chairman Moshe Gafni was unexpectedly ousted Sunday, with lawmaker Yaakov Asher named to replace him. Lawmaker Uri Maklev will also not be included on the slate. On the Agudat Yisrael side of the alliance, veteran lawmaker Yisrael Eichler will give up his place to Elyakim Stark, a senior figure in the Belz Hasidic movement. Shas Shas chairman Arye Deri convened the Sephardic Haredi party’s Council of Torah Sages on Sunday to discuss the composition of its Knesset slate. Several new names are expected to appear, including Yosef Elnatanov, a representative of Israel’s Bukharan Jewish community, and Lt. Col. (res.) Dror Amos, head of Haifa’s religious council, who left career military service about two years ago. Some incumbent lawmakers have meanwhile been concerned that they could unexpectedly lose their places. Minister Yoav Ben-Tzur and former deputy minister Moshe Abutbul held discussions with several of the party’s rabbis to clarify their status amid concerns they could be dropped, though that now appears unlikely. Joint List The slate for the revived Joint List alliance of the predominantly Arab Hadash, Ta’al and Balad parties has yet to be announced. One candidate who will not be on it is Jaafar Farah, who had been designated for the No. 4 position but withdrew amid allegations of sexual harassment. Hadash, Farah’s party, said members of its secretariat and central committee would choose his replacement Tuesday. The party appears likely to select a woman for the slot. Religious Zionist Party Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionist Party, which has struggled in polls to cross the electoral threshold, had hoped to unite with former senior military officer Ofer Winter’s Amcha Israel party. Winter’s party, however, closed the door on an alliance and submitted its slate Monday. The Religious Zionist Party is instead hoping that a joint run with former lawmaker Moshe Feiglin’s Zehut party will strengthen both factions. The agreement is a technical electoral alliance only, with the parties planning to separate again after the election. Under the agreement, Feiglin received the No. 2 spot on the joint slate, while Zehut was allocated three places in the top 10. Blue and White Another party polling below the electoral threshold is former defense minister Benny Gantz’s Blue and White. Gantz failed in efforts to forge an alliance with former UN ambassador Gilad Erdan’s Unity party. Erdan has since announced that he is withdrawing from the election entirely. Reports nevertheless continue of a possible alliance between Blue and White and former lawmaker Yoaz Hendel and his reservists’ movement. The party has also undergone a last-minute personnel shake-up. Lawmaker Michael Biton informed Gantz that he was leaving the party. Just hours later, former Beit Shemesh Mayor Aliza Bloch announced that she was joining Blue and White.