Feiglin Visits Temple Mount as Israeli Election Campaign Intensifies

Israeli political leaders intensified their election campaigns on Monday, October 26, 2026, as disputes over national security, opposition unity and electoral strategy shaped the contest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Zehut party leader Moshe Feiglin visited Jerusalem's Temple Mount, while rival political figures debated how to challenge Netanyahu and parties raised concerns about campaign interference.

Feiglin, who is running for the Knesset on a joint slate with Religious Zionism, argued that the Temple Mount was central to Israel's war in Gaza. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir also visited the contested religious site on Monday.

Feiglin linked the military campaign in Gaza to religious and territorial claims surrounding Jerusalem's holy compound.

"The fighters rediscovered their commitment to the Temple Mount and the Temple, put the patches on their uniforms, and understood that this entire war is being decided on the Temple Mount – nowhere else," Feiglin said, claiming that soldiers operating in Gaza had found pictures of the Temple Mount and Al-Aqsa Compound on the walls of homes.

He also connected control of the site to Israel's territorial sovereignty.

"There can be no sovereignty in the Negev, the Galilee or along the country's borders without ownership and sovereignty in the heart of Jerusalem," Feiglin said.

Feiglin warned that abandoning the holy site would have wider security consequences.

"Those who retreat from the holy site will find an enemy pursuing them in every city and village," he said.

Meanwhile, the opposition faced disagreements over how to organize its campaign against Netanyahu. Gadi Eisenkot's campaign presented his party as the vehicle for replacing the prime minister, while Yair Golan, chairman of the Democrats, argued that concentrating on becoming the largest party could weaken the broader opposition bloc.

Eisenkot's campaign framed the election as a choice between continuing under Netanyahu and forming a government under new leadership.

"The two options ahead of Election Day. There is one ballot that will replace Netanyahu and ensure Israel has a prime minister who will unite this wonderful people," Eisenkot's campaign said.

The campaign followed with a separate appeal to voters emphasizing Eisenkot's candidacy and the prospect of victory.

"The time has come. This time, we choose a prime minister. This time, victory! This time, Eisenkot!" the campaign said.

Golan acknowledged Eisenkot's leadership qualities but opposed the strategy of making his party the largest in the election. He argued that the approach could undermine the Democrats and reduce the opposition's ability to form a government.

Golan described Eisenkot as a "worthy leader" but called the largest-party campaign a "dangerous lie." He said the strategy risked weakening the Democrats, whose supporters had spent four years fighting politically and defending democracy in the streets.

He warned that the opposition could become vulnerable without a strong Democratic Party and argued that winning the largest number of seats should not take precedence over maintaining a cohesive bloc.

"A bloc without strong Democrats is a weak bloc. A bloc that could fall apart at the moment of truth," Golan said.

He argued that the opposition should prioritize the Democrats' strength over adding another seat to the largest party.

"Strong Democrats are preferable to one more seat for the largest party," Golan said.

Golan also cited a previous election in which Yair Lapid led a similar campaign and the opposition bloc lost. He said forming a government required a majority within the bloc and a sufficiently strong political foundation to deliver meaningful change.

"To form a government, you need a majority within the bloc, and to lead real change, you need a backbone," Golan said.

He called on Eisenkot to cooperate with the Democrats rather than compete against them, invoking their shared experience protecting Israel through military service.

"Let's work together, not against each other. We knew how to protect Israel in uniform. Let's do it now, too," Golan said.

Netanyahu's campaign also focused on consolidating support among right-wing voters. According to the source report, Friday's final polls indicated continued deadlock, while the outcome could depend on whether Eisenkot agreed to rely on one of Israel's Arab parties.

Netanyahu urged voters to abandon smaller parties within his bloc that were hovering near the electoral threshold and instead support Likud. The more liberal Haredi Public party was polling below 2 percent, while former general Ofer Winter's far-right Amcha Yisrael was polling around 3 percent, just below the threshold.

Netanyahu made the appeal during an appearance on Channel 14's The Patriots, where supporters referred to him as "King Bibi." He acknowledged that the election could turn on a margin as small as half a seat, according to the source report.

The report also noted that Likud had previously lost elections to former Israel Defense Forces chiefs Yitzhak Rabin in 1992 and Ehud Barak in 1999. Netanyahu warned that a government formed without him would bring a second Holocaust, while commentators close to him recalled family anxiety during the 1999 campaign, describing the atmosphere as "just like then."

Separately, Yashar, the party led by Eisenkot, announced that it had filed a police complaint over attempts to impersonate the party through fake text messages and voice messages sent to the public.

The party warned that misleading material could circulate in the final days of the campaign and urged the public to verify information before sharing it.

"The next two days are expected to be rife with fake news. We call on everyone to act responsibly before publishing information, and certainly to refrain from amplifying unverified reports," Yashar said.

Security concerns also featured in a CNN report published Monday. According to CNN, IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir warned U.S. Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine that an American strike on Iran before Israel's Tuesday election could disrupt the vote. The report cited U.S. officials and an Israeli security source and said the warning preceded the rejection of Netanyahu's requests to resume attacks on Iran.

Israeli political leaders also reacted to Brazil's presidential election, in which Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva defeated Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro. The source report said Jair Bolsonaro was serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup after losing the 2022 election, and noted that Netanyahu's Likud party had close ties to the Bolsonaro family.

One minister in Netanyahu's government disputed the Brazilian election result and called it "fraud." Israel's foreign minister had openly endorsed Flávio Bolsonaro's candidacy, according to the source report.