When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets US President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago this week, the encounter will mark more than a diplomatic reunion.
For Netanyahu, it’s the opening act of his 2026 reelection bid, in which the US President is positioned to play a starring role.
Israel is officially scheduled to hold elections in October 2026, though that timeline could collapse sooner. Two immediate threats loom over Netanyahu’s coalition: the ultra-Orthodox conscription crisis and the March 2026 budget deadline. Either could trigger early elections.
Netanyahu’s sixth government — spanning 18 years across multiple premierships — has weathered extraordinary turmoil, from the 2023 judicial overhaul that brought hundreds of thousands into the streets, through the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack that killed over 1,200 Israelis, to the grinding war that followed, leaving Israel diplomatically isolated and bitterly divided.
Yet Netanyahu has endured. His coalition has outlasted every Israeli government of the past six years, giving him time to restore Israel’s regional deterrence while avoiding substantial inquiry into the decision-making preceding its unprecedented security lapse on October 7, 2023.
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