Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, has a multi-party system where no single party has ever won a majority (61+ seats). Governments are formed through coalitions. The largest parties as of 2025 include:
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Likud (Right-wing) – Led by Benjamin Netanyahu, Likud is Israel’s dominant right-wing party, emphasizing security, nationalism, and free-market policies. It currently holds 32 seats and leads the governing coalition.
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Yesh Atid (Centrist) – Yair Lapid’s secular, liberal party focuses on economic reform and reducing religious influence in governance. It is the largest opposition party with 24 seats.
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Shas (Religious/Sephardic) – A kingmaker party representing ultra-Orthodox Sephardic Jews, Shas holds 11 seats but recently quit Netanyahu’s coalition over military draft exemptions, weakening his government
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National Unity (Centrist to right-wing) – Formerly led by Benny Gantz, this party joined Netanyahu’s wartime cabinet but later split, now holding 8 seats.
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Religious Zionism/Otzma Yehudit (Far-right) – A merger of nationalist and Kahanist factions, it advocates annexing the West Bank and opposes Palestinian statehood. It holds 7 seats (Smotrich) and 6 seats (Ben-Gvir) .
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United Arab List (Ra'am) – An Islamist Arab party that briefly joined a coalition in 2021, focusing on Arab-Israeli issues. It holds 5 seats .
Key Dynamics
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Netanyahu’s coalition (Likud, far-right, and ultra-Orthodox parties) is fragile after Shas and UTJ quit over conscription laws.
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The opposition (Yesh Atid, Labor-Meretz merger "The Democrats") pushes for secular governance and diplomatic engagement.
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Small parties (e.g., Arab-led Hadash-Ta'al) hold balance-of-power influence.
