Three new parties that entered Israel's 2026 election campaign polling near the electoral threshold failed to secure seats in the Knesset, according to official results published by the Central Elections Committee (CEC) on Wednesday.
People of Israel, led by former IDF Brig.-Gen. Ofer Winter, the Reservists-Economic Party, led by former communications minister Yoaz Hendel and economist Yaron Zelekha, and Haredi Public, led by Moti Leitner, were all projected to fall short of the 3.25% electoral threshold required to be allocated any seats in the Knesset.
The Reservists-Economic Party received 2.63% of the vote, with 127,844 valid votes counted as of 15 p.m. Wednesday. People of Israel received 1.61% with 78,377 votes counted. Haredi Public received 0.20% of the vote with 9,502 eligible votes counted thus far.
People of Israel campaigned on a right-wing security platform, advocating tougher action against Hamas while also supporting greater ultra-Orthodox participation in military service.
Winter declared his party to be part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc but challenged the prime minister on several issues during the election campaign and repeatedly called for new faces in Israel's parliament.
Despite challenging the establishment, new parties projected to fall short of Knesset
The Reservists-Economic Party campaigned on expanding military service to include more ultra-Orthodox Israelis and addressing Israel's economic challenges. Hendel did not commit to joining either political bloc, instead calling for a broad Zionist government to be formed following the election.
Haredi Public sought to offer an alternative to the established ultra-Orthodox parties, Shas and United Torah Judaism, with a focus on representing the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) public.
The parties' failure to clear the threshold could affect the distribution of Knesset seats among the parties that qualify, as votes cast for parties that fall short are not included in the allocation of seats.
The exit polls are preliminary projections. The final outcome will depend on the official vote count and the allocation of Knesset seats.
People of Israel officials: Winter's campaign did not cost Netanyahu’s bloc seats
Officials from Ofer Winter's People of Israel party said, following an initial analysis of the exit poll results, that the seat distribution would have shifted against the right-wing bloc if Winter had withdrawn from the race.
They claimed that Yoaz Hendel and Yaron Zelekha would have passed the electoral threshold, adding four seats to the left-wing bloc.
The officials also argued that the vast majority of votes cast for Winter came from voters outside the governing coalition, dismissing claims that the party had wasted votes as “absurd.”