International Israel

Netanyahu vows to form 'broad and stable' government if he wins election

Claims Israel 'succeeded in avoiding civil war' while acknowledging it 'faces many challenges'..

Khaled Yousef

22 July 2026 • Updated: 22 July 2026

ISTANBUL

Istanbul / Khaled Yousef / Anadolu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that he would work to form a 'broad and stable' government if his bloc wins again in the upcoming elections.

This came in a video statement by Netanyahu on the eve of what is called the 'Memorial of the Destruction of the Temple,' published by the official page of the Israeli Prime Minister's Office.

Last week, the Israeli Knesset's (parliament) decision to dissolve itself paved the way for general elections scheduled for October 27, which Netanyahu is contesting in an effort to stay in power, while opposition parties, despite their differing positions, agree on the goal of removing him and his allies from power.

Netanyahu's government began its term in late 2022 by proposing legislative bills it called 'judicial reform,' while the opposition viewed it as an attempt to end democracy. It then waged successive wars on Gaza, Lebanon, Iran, and Yemen, and ended its term with a series of laws favoring the ultra-Orthodox 'Haredim,' which the opposition described as 'laws of evasion and looting.'

Netanyahu said: 'In the past three years, we have succeeded in avoiding a civil war. We were brothers fighting side by side to repel those who seek to kill us,' as he put it.

He added: 'And although the work is not yet finished, we face many challenges, and I am fully confident that we can overcome them.'

He continued: 'As Prime Minister of Israel, I intend to strengthen our unity, and I will work to form a broad and stable national government that will take responsibility for our security and future.'

According to the latest poll published by the Hebrew newspaper Ma'ariv on Friday, the opposition bloc leads Netanyahu's far-right bloc, and could form a government by winning 62 seats in the Knesset, compared to 48 seats for Netanyahu's bloc, if a general election were held.

The upcoming elections will be the first since 1988 to be held on their constitutional date, after the current Knesset completes its full four-year term.

The current Knesset is the 25th since the declaration of the establishment of Israel in 1948 on Palestinian lands occupied by armed Zionist gangs that committed massacres and displaced at least 750,000 Palestinians.

Later, Israel occupied the rest of the Palestinian territories, and still refuses to withdraw from them and establish a Palestinian state, despite relevant United Nations resolutions.