A poll published by Israel’s Channel 13 on Wednesday showed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc winning 54 seats in the Knesset, compared with 52 for Gadi Eisenkot’s bloc if general elections were held now, while Arab parties would win 14 seats combined.
Yashar leads and Likud declines in poll
The same number of seats went to Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit, Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu and the Arab Joint List. The poll gave Shas and United Torah Judaism 7 seats each, while Ofer Winter’s Am Yisrael won 6, tied with the United Arab List, Ra’am, led by Mansour Abbas.
The lists led by Yoaz Hendel and Yaron Zelekha, along with the Haredi Public and Benny Gantz’s Blue and White party, failed to clear the electoral threshold. Asked who was most suitable to serve as prime minister, 45% of respondents chose Eisenkot, compared with 36% for Netanyahu, while 19% said they did not know. Israel’s general election is scheduled for 27 October.
