Jerusalem, 21 October, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Likud officials fear that as many as five Knesset seats could effectively be lost if small right-wing parties fail to cross Israel’s 3.25% electoral threshold in the October 27 election, Israeli media reported on Wednesday.
The concern centers on smaller parties competing independently for voters who might otherwise support Likud and its political allies. Parties that fall below the threshold receive no parliamentary representation, and their votes are excluded from the allocation of Knesset seats.
Ofer Winter’s Amcha Yisrael, the Haredi Public party led by Moti Leitner, the Reservists-Economic Party led by Yoaz Hendel and Yaron Zelekha, and Avi Maoz’s Noam party have all faced questions about their ability to secure enough votes.
The outcome could affect the bloc’s ability to secure the 61 seats needed for a Knesset majority.
Likud has signed a surplus-vote agreement with Smotrich’s Religious Zionism/Zehut list, helping the parties maximize representation if both pass the threshold.
