The 1996–97 Liga Leumit season saw Beitar Jerusalem win their third title. Hapoel Tayibe (the first Arab club to play in the top flight since the establishment of Israel) and Tzafririm Holon were relegated to Liga Artzit. Motti Kakoun of Hapoel Petah Tikva was the league's top scorer with 20 goals.
Final table
Results
Top scorers RankPlayerClubGoals1 Moti KakounHapoel Petah Tikva202 Alon MizrahiBnei Yehuda183 Ofer ShitritMaccabi Petah Tikva154 Eli OhanaBeitar Jerusalem14 Itzik ZoharBeitar Jerusalem146 Hezi ShiraziMaccabi Haifa137 Avi NimniMaccabi Tel Aviv12 Yaniv OfriHapoel Petah Tikva129 Shay HoltzmanHapoel Beer Sheva1110 Yaniv AbargilHapoel Kfar Saba10 István SallóiBeitar Jerusalem10
References Israel - List of Final Tables RSSSF Liga Leumit IFA