Israel held its 26th Knesset election on 27 October 2026, and exit polls show no bloc reaching a 61-seat majority, so coalition talks are under way. The NIS 699bn 2026 budget passed in March is defence-heavy, and the government is expanding AI infrastructure through a national AI directorate in the Prime Minister's Office.
What a Korean company can do now
Government · leader
President Isaac Herzog / Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (incumbent; coalition formation under way after the Oct 27 election)
Key national agenda
- Forming a coalition and new government after the election
- Rebuilding the security posture after the Gaza war and higher defence spending
- National AI plan (PMO AI directorate, Negev AI data centres and compute)
- Managing a deficit of about 5% of GDP and fiscal stability
- Expanding transport infrastructure such as rail electrification
- Reallocating funds to tackle crime in Arab communities
Government programmes
2026 state budgetNIS 699bn
Largest-ever budget passed by the Knesset on 30 March 2026, with an extra NIS 32bn for defence
National AI policy package and AI directorateNIS 120m (mostly 2026) + NIS 13m per year
Approved 16 June 2026; centralises AI budget and policy in the PMO; home-grown AI, large GPU data centres, workforce reskilling
Israel Railways network electrification
International tender for detailed design, construction, testing and commissioning on parts of the network
Budget adjustment to Arab-community gap plan (Decision 4387)NIS 497m
Decision of 15 July 2026 shifting about NIS 497m to police and security agencies against crime and weapons smuggling
Business opportunities
AI workflow-automation consulting and PoCs for public bodies
🔒 Why-now and buyers — analysis member ₩19,800/mo
Korea-Israel FTA market entry and tech-partnership matching for SMEs
🔒 Why-now and buyers — analysis member ₩19,800/mo
Open this week
Consortium building and bid support for the rail electrification tender
An international tender closing in December 2026 is open.
Korean rail construction and power equipment firms
AI reskilling training programmes
🔒 Why-now and buyers — analysis member ₩19,800/mo
Free members get a human-reviewed summary by email for up to 3 countries a month (sent within 24h). BUILD members get them all.
Tenders
- Israel Railways network electrification (design, construction, testing, commissioning) · Israel Railways Ltd. · Deadline 2026-12-09
Korean support schemes
- KOTRA Tel Aviv trade office · KOTRA — Supports market research, buyer sourcing and FTA advice for entering Israel.
- Export Voucher Program · MOTIE / Ministry of SMEs and Startups — Covers export service costs such as certification, translation and consulting through vouchers.
- Overseas construction support · International Contractors Association of Korea (ICAK) — Provides bid information and consulting for infrastructure projects such as rail.
Official notices
Prime Minister's Office of Israel (gov.il)
- 2026-07-15 Government Decision 4387 shifts part of the Arab-community economic plan budget to policing and intelligence
- 2026-06-16 National AI policy package approved, led by a PMO AI body
- 2026-03-30 Knesset gives final approval to the NIS 699bn 2026 budget
Disaster · conflict · epidemic
High 2026-11-07
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State of war with Iran continues; reports it pressed the US for more strikes before the 3 Nov US strike · Strikes continue in Gaza despite the ceasefire; 4 killed in al-Mawasi (28 Oct) · Fighting with Hezbollah continues; strike in south Lebanon (4 Nov)
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