Jerusalem, 20 October, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Israel’s smaller political parties face potentially devastating financial consequences if they fail to cross the electoral threshold in the October 27 Knesset election. Under Israel’s proportional representation system, a party must win at least 3.25% of valid votes to enter parliament. Parties that fall short receive no seats, and their votes do not contribute to parliamentary representation.
The financial danger begins even before that threshold. New lists must raise millions of shekels in personal guarantees to secure campaign financing, while parties receiving less than 1% of the vote are ineligible for public funding. That funding unit is worth approximately NIS 1.83 million ($590,000).
According to Israeli media reports, Ofer Winter’s Amcha Yisrael party raised NIS 8.4 million ($2.7 million) in guarantees and borrowed about NIS 7 million ($2.26 million). Yoaz Hendel and Yaron Zelekha, running together, secured millions more in guarantees. If their lists fail to qualify for funding, lenders could seize their collateral to recover debts.