13 October 2026
Israel's general election is set for 27 October 2026.
Al Jazeera reported on 17 July 2026 that the Knesset was to dissolve ahead of the vote.
Israel is a single nationwide constituency, and the 120 Knesset seats are shared out by each list's share of the vote.
A list must win at least 3.25 per cent of the vote to enter the Knesset, and a government needs 61 of the 120 seats.
Al Jazeera notes this is the first time the Knesset has seen out its full term since 1988.
After the vote, the President asks the politician best placed to form a coalition to try to assemble one.
Parties have until 16 October to submit surplus-vote agreements, the Times of Israel reports.
Election date:
27 October 2026
Knesset seats:
120
Threshold:
3.25 per cent
Majority:
61 seats
Why it matters for exams: Electoral system, threshold and the President's role in forming a government are standard comparative-polity questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Knesset the Parliament of Israel — Israel's single-chamber parliament with 120 members.
Electoral threshold the minimum share of votes a list needs — A list below 3.25 per cent wins no seats in the Knesset.
Surplus-vote agreement a pact between two lists to pool leftover votes — It can win one party an extra seat when final seats are allocated.
13 October 2026
On 12 October 2026 an unexploded munition detonated during a school hike in the Ramim Ridge area of northern Israel, near the Lebanon border.
The group was from the ORT Ma'alot school, and Magen David Adom reported that a 14-year-old boy was pronounced dead at the scene.
Magen David Adom reported two boys in serious condition, ten people in moderate condition and twelve with light injuries.
The IDF said the device was likely a cluster bomb belonging to Hezbollah that had been left in the area; it had earlier assessed it as a cluster submunition from a Hezbollah rocket.
Police Commissioner Danny Levy said he would issue an order limiting further hikes in the area for several days, until it is confirmed clear of additional ordnance.
The Prime Minister's Office said Netanyahu told the IDF Home Front Command to reiterate public warnings about ordnance.
The Jerusalem Post reported that the IDF declared the incident a mass-casualty event and that students and staff of the ORT Ma'alot Yeshiva High School were among the victims, according to the municipality.
Date:
12 October 2026
Place:
Ramim Ridge, northern Israel
School:
ORT Ma'alot
Dead (per Magen David Adom):
One 14-year-old boy
Why it matters for exams: Israel-Lebanon border security and Hezbollah are recurring West Asia current-affairs themes.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Magen David Adom Israel's national emergency medical service — It reported the casualty figures at the scene.
Hezbollah an armed group and political party in Lebanon — The IDF said the device was likely a Hezbollah cluster bomb.
Home Front Command the IDF branch handling civilian protection — It issues public warnings during emergencies.
13 October 2026
On 2 October 2026 Israel's Supreme Court overturned the Central Elections Committee's disqualification of the two main Arab-majority lists, Ra'am (the United Arab List) and the Joint List, an alliance of Hadash, Ta'al and Balad.
Al Jazeera reports that the justices ruled unanimously on the two lists.
The court also voted 7-2 to reinstate Ofer Cassif, a Hadash member of the Knesset; two of the nine justices opposed that decision.
Balad leader Sami Abu Shehadeh withdrew from the race after the court told him that a majority of the nine justices favoured disqualifying him.
Deutsche Welle explains that under Israel's Basic Law a candidate or party can be barred for negating the existence of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, for incitement to racism, or for support for armed struggle by a hostile state or a terrorist organisation.
Arab citizens make up around one fifth of Israel's population; the Knesset election is on 27 October 2026.
Ruling date:
2 October 2026
Lists allowed to run:
Ra'am and the Joint List
Vote to reinstate Ofer Cassif:
7-2
Knesset election:
27 October 2026
Why it matters for exams: Judicial review of electoral decisions, the Central Elections Committee and the Basic Law grounds for disqualification are staple polity questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Central Elections Committee the panel that decides whether lists and candidates may stand in Knesset elections — Its disqualification of two Arab lists was overturned by the Supreme Court.
Joint List an alliance of the Hadash, Ta'al and Balad parties — It is one of the two Arab-majority lists the court allowed to run.
Basic Law a law of constitutional character passed by the Knesset — It sets the grounds on which a candidate or party can be barred from a Knesset election.
13 October 2026
On 16 September 2026 Israel and Morocco agreed to upgrade their diplomatic ties, raising their missions to embassies and appointing ambassadors to both countries.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar and Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita met in New York at a meeting hosted by US ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz.
They agreed to conclude two agreements by the end of 2026, one on investment protection and one on preventing double taxation.
They also agreed to expand air travel, including direct flights operated by carriers of both nations, and confirmed plans for high-level visits in the coming months.
The announcement came a day after the sixth anniversary of the Abraham Accords; Al Jazeera notes that the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, Sudan and Kazakhstan have joined them.
Date of agreement:
16 September 2026
Venue:
New York
Foreign ministers:
Gideon Sa'ar and Nasser Bourita
Agreements due:
Investment protection and double taxation, by end of 2026
Why it matters for exams: Diplomatic upgrades and the Abraham Accords are recurring West Asia and international-relations questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Abraham Accords US-backed agreements to normalise ties between Israel and Arab and Muslim-majority states — The UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, Sudan and Kazakhstan have joined.
Double taxation agreement a treaty that stops the same income being taxed in two countries — Israel and Morocco aim to conclude one by the end of 2026.
13 October 2026
Israel's general election is set for 27 October 2026.
The Knesset, Israel's unicameral parliament, dissolved on Friday 17 July 2026, the first time the body had seen out its full term since 1988.
Voters elect 120 members of the Knesset.
The system is nationwide proportional representation: the whole country functions as a single electoral district and voters choose party lists rather than individual candidates.
The electoral threshold is 3.25 per cent, so a list below that share wins no seats.
No party has won an outright majority in the country's history, which makes coalition-building central; after an election the President asks the politician best placed to form a government to assemble a coalition.
Polling date:
27 October 2026
Knesset seats:
120
Electoral threshold:
3.25 per cent
Knesset dissolution:
17 July 2026
Electoral districts:
One, the whole country
Why it matters for exams: A national election in a country India deals with closely, with its seat count, threshold and voting system, is prime current affairs material.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Knesset — Israel's parliament, a single chamber of 120 members.
Electoral threshold — The minimum share of the national vote a party list must win to get any seats.
Proportional representation — A system in which seats are shared out in proportion to the votes each list receives.
13 October 2026
Israel's general election is fixed for 27 October 2026. Under Basic Law: the Knesset, a Knesset's term runs four years from the day on which it is elected, and elections fall on the third Tuesday of the Hebrew month of Heshvan, usually in October or November, subject to adjustment in a leap year. The Knesset, Israel's parliament, dissolved on 17 July 2026. The Knesset is a single-house parliament of 120 members, chosen by proportional representation from party lists. A list must cross an electoral threshold currently set at 3.25 per cent of the total valid votes to win any seat. Seats are allotted by dividing the total valid votes by 120 to fix a quotient, with leftover votes going to surplus-vote agreements. A government takes office only after a confidence vote by at least 61 of the 120 members, and the outgoing government continues in office until the new one is formed.
Election date:
27 October 2026
Knesset dissolved:
17 July 2026
Seats:
120, single house
Electoral threshold:
3.25 per cent of total valid votes
Confidence needed:
At least 61 of 120 members
Term under Basic Law: the Knesset:
Four years from the day of election
Why it matters for exams: Israel's 120-member Knesset, its 3.25 per cent threshold and the 61-vote confidence rule are standard comparative-polity questions, and the 27 October 2026 poll date makes them current.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Knesset Knesset — Israel's single-chamber parliament, with 120 members.
Electoral threshold Electoral threshold — The minimum share of valid votes a party list must win before it can be given any seat.
Surplus-vote agreement Surplus-vote agreement — A pact between two lists to pool their leftover votes when the last seats are shared out.
13 October 2026
The Law Library of Congress published an explainer on 9 October 2026 setting out the rules for Israel's national election. Israelis return to the polls on October 27, 2026, to elect the Knesset's single-house, 120-member parliament. Representation in the Knesset requires a party list to pass a threshold currently set at 3.25% of the total valid votes. Seats are allotted from a quotient: the total number of valid votes is divided by 120. A government and its ministers are installed following a vote of confidence by at least 61 of the 120 Knesset members. Israel does not recognize absentee ballots, and voters must be present at a polling station and identify themselves.
Election date:
October 27, 2026
Knesset seats:
120
Electoral threshold:
3.25% of the total valid votes
Members needed for confidence:
At least 61 of the 120
Why it matters for exams: A country's parliament size, its electoral threshold and the number of members needed for a confidence vote are the facts examiners pull out of an election year.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Knesset Israel's parliament — Israel's single-house, 120-member legislature.
Electoral threshold Minimum vote share for seats — The minimum share of valid votes a list must win before it is given any seat.
Background
The Knesset is Israel's unicameral parliament and has 120 members.
Members serve a term of four years.
Voters elect it by nationwide proportional representation, with the whole country as a single constituency.
The cabinet must win a Knesset vote of confidence.
Because single parties rarely win a majority, coalition governments are common, and a government needs 61 of the 120 seats.
The Knesset sits in Jerusalem.
Members:
120
Term:
Four years
Houses:
One (unicameral)
Seat:
Jerusalem
Why it matters for exams: Parliament size, term and electoral system are standard comparative-polity questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Unicameral having a single legislative chamber — The Knesset has no upper house.
Proportional representation seats shared in proportion to votes won — Israel uses one nationwide constituency.
Background
Israel and India established full diplomatic relations on 29 January 1992.
Israel had a consulate in Mumbai from 1953, before full relations.
After 1992 an embassy opened in New Delhi, the Mumbai office became a consulate-general and a consulate opened in Bangalore.
Ariel Sharon became the first Israeli prime minister to visit India, in 2003.
Narendra Modi made the first visit to Israel by an Indian prime minister, in 2017.
Benjamin Netanyahu made a state visit to India in 2018.
Full relations:
29 January 1992
Israeli consulate, Mumbai:
From 1953
First Israeli PM in India:
Ariel Sharon, 2003
First Indian PM in Israel:
Narendra Modi, 2017
Why it matters for exams: The year relations began and the landmark prime ministerial visits are frequent India-bilateral questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Consulate-general a consulate with senior status in a major city — The Mumbai office was upgraded to this rank after 1992.
Background
General Assembly resolution 273 (III) decided to admit Israel to membership in the United Nations.
The resolution is dated 11 May 1949 and was adopted at the General Assembly's third session.
The Assembly acted after receiving the Security Council's report recommending Israel's admission.
Resolution:
273 (III)
Date:
11 May 1949
Admitting organ:
UN General Assembly
Why it matters for exams: The year and the instrument of a state's UN admission are standard international-organisations questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
General Assembly the main deliberative organ of the UN — Resolution 273 (III) was adopted by the General Assembly.
Background
In Israel the President is the head of state and the Prime Minister leads the government.
The BBC describes the presidency as a largely ceremonial post, notionally above party politics.
Israel's parliament elected Isaac Herzog to the post in 2021.
Benjamin Netanyahu, chairman of the Likud party, is Prime Minister.
No party has ever won an outright majority, so coalition-building is central; after an election the President asks the politician best placed to form a government to assemble a coalition, Al Jazeera explains.
The next Knesset election is on 27 October 2026.
President:
Isaac Herzog
Prime Minister:
Benjamin Netanyahu
Herzog elected by:
Parliament, in 2021
Role of the President:
Largely ceremonial
Why it matters for exams: Head of state versus head of government, and who invites a leader to form a government, are standard country-profile and polity questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Head of state the office that represents the country as a whole — In Israel this is the President, a largely ceremonial post.
Coalition an alliance of parties that together command a majority — No party has ever won an outright majority in Israel.
Background
The Knesset adopted Basic Law: Israel as the Nation State of the Jewish People by 62 votes to 55 on 19 July 2018.
The law says the right to exercise national self-determination in Israel is unique to the Jewish people.
It singles out Hebrew as the state's language; Arabic, recognised for decades as an official language alongside Hebrew, is given a 'special status'.
The law also describes Jerusalem, 'complete and united', as the capital of Israel.
On 8 July 2021 Israel's Supreme Court upheld the law, saying it did not negate Israel's democratic character, Al Jazeera reported.
The Supreme Court is again at the centre of Knesset election news in October 2026.
Law:
Basic Law: Israel as the Nation State of the Jewish People
Passed:
19 July 2018, by 62 votes to 55
Status of Arabic:
'Special status'
Upheld by Supreme Court:
8 July 2021
Why it matters for exams: Basic Laws, official languages and judicial review of constitutional-type laws are common country-profile and polity questions.
Kerala PSCUPSC
In plain words
Basic Law a law of constitutional character passed by the Knesset — The Nation-State Law is one of Israel's Basic Laws.
Self-determination a people's right to decide its own political status — The law says Israel's national self-determination is unique to the Jewish people.