New Poll Shows Ofer Vinter's Party Surpassing Threshold, Opposition Bloc Declines

A new poll published by "Israel Hayom" indicates a significant shift in the Israeli political landscape, with former IDF Brigadier General Ofer Vinter's new party, 'Am Israel,' successfully crossing the electoral threshold and securing 4 Knesset seats. Vinter's entry into the right-wing bloc is seen as a considerable boost, raising the bloc led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to 53 seats. Conversely, the opposition bloc, headed by Gadi Eisenkot, has seen a decline, now standing at 55 seats, while Arab parties hold an additional 12 seats. The poll suggests neither major bloc currently commands an independent majority of 61 seats.

Within the individual parties, Eisenkot's 'Yashr!' party emerges as the largest with 24 seats, followed by Netanyahu's Likud party with 21 seats. The 'Achdut' list, a union of Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, maintains its strength with 13 seats. 'HaDemokratim' secures 9 seats, as does Avigdor Lieberman's 'Yisrael Beiteinu' party.

In the religious parties, United Torah Judaism garners 8 seats, while Shas receives 7. Itamar Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit party also holds 7 seats. The joint list of Bezalel Smotrich and Moshe Feiglin achieves 6 seats, a notable increase from previous polls where Smotrich alone sometimes fell below the threshold.

The poll also shows the Arab parties collectively gaining strength, with the Joint List receiving 7 seats and Ra'am securing 5, totaling 12 seats for the sector. The overall results indicate a close and tense race for forming the next coalition government, with the deadline for party list submissions for the 26th Knesset approaching.