Israeli election turnout skyrockets with Netanyahu’s fate on the line

Gerry Shih, Lior Soroka, Suheir Hashimeh, and Steve Hendrix Washington Post · 27 Oct, 2026 05:24 PM 8 mins to read Final polls put Gadi Eisenkot slightly ahead of Netanyahu. Photo / Getty Images Final polls put Gadi Eisenkot slightly ahead of Netanyahu. Photo / Getty Images Israelis from Tel Aviv and West Bank settlements, from Jerusalem and overseas, have poured into polling booths at the highest rate in decades for a pivotal election widely seen as a referendum on Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, and his record on the deadly October 7, 2023, attack