Poll Shows New Alliances Hamper Opposition's Government Formation Chances

A new poll commissioned by Maariv newspaper and conducted by Lazar Research indicates shifts in the Israeli political landscape, potentially hindering the opposition's ability to form a government. The Likud party, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, is projected to win 20 seats. The "Bayehad" bloc, comprising Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, is expected to secure 15 seats. Yair Golan's "Democratim" party is polling at 10 seats, followed by Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu with 9 seats.

Further down, Itamar Ben-Gvir's "Otzma Yehudit" is projected to get 8 seats. The "Yahadut HaTorah" party, the Shas party, and the joint Arab list (Hadash-Ta'al-Balad) are each expected to win 7 seats. Ra'am and the "Zionut Datit"-"Zeut" bloc led by Bezalel Smotrich and Moshe Feiglin are polling at 5 seats each, while Ofer Winter's "Amcha" party is projected to receive 4 seats.

The poll attributes the opposition's diminished potential to form a government to recent political realignments. Specifically, the inclusion of Balad in the joint Arab list and the alliance between Smotrich and Feiglin have resulted in the Jewish opposition parties collectively holding only 57 seats. In contrast, the parties supporting the current ruling coalition are projected to win 51 seats, and Arab parties are expected to gain 12 seats.