Netanyahu plans to run for PM again in Israel’s 2026 elections

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed his candidacy for the 2026 elections, aiming to extend his long leadership. Meanwhile, the Rafah crossing remains closed amid a ceasefire, with Israel linking its reopening to Hamas’s compliance in returning hostage bodies

Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced that he will run for office again in the 2026 parliamentary elections.

He made the announcement during an interview with Israel’s Channel 14 on Saturday (local time), where he was asked if he intends to seek another term. “Yes,” he replied. When asked whether he expects to win, Netanyahu said, “Yes.”

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In the last Israeli elections in 2022, Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party won 32 seats, and he was recommended by 64 members of the 120-seat Israeli parliament, or Knesset, to be qualified to form a government.

Netanyahu was sworn in as the country’s prime minister in December of that year, and has been leading an extreme-right coalition ever since. Netanyahu will turn 76 next week. He served as Israel’s prime minister from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2009 to 2021, before being ousted in June 2021 by a centrist coalition formed by Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett.

In a separate development, Netanyahu’s office announced that the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip will not open until further notice. Its opening will be under consideration in accordance with how Hamas implements its part in the return of the deceased hostages and the implementation of the agreed framework, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.

The Palestinian Embassy in Cairo announced earlier in the day that the Rafah border crossing will reopen on Monday to allow Palestinians residing in Egypt who wish to return to Gaza to pass. The Israel Defense Forces said early on Saturday in a statement that it had received the body of the 10th deceased Israeli hostage held in Gaza from Hamas, apart from all the remaining 20 living hostages.

A ceasefire, mediated by Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, and the United States, went into effect on Oct. 10. Its first phase includes the exchange of prisoners and detainees, the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, and a partial withdrawal of Israeli forces. Under the agreement, Hamas is obliged to return the bodies of 18 more deceased Israeli hostages.