New Political Alliance Passes Threshold, Shifting Israeli Election Landscape

A new political party formed by Yoaz Hendel and Professor Yaron Zelicha has successfully passed the electoral threshold, securing an estimated four seats in the Knesset according to a Kantar poll released by Kan News. The union was announced after Chili Tropper departed the 'Zionist Home - Reservists' party. Hendel and Zelicha's party is not aligned with either of the major political blocs, and their success complicates the current seat distribution.

This development impacts the bloc totals: the Netanyahu bloc gains one seat, reaching 52, while the Eisenkot bloc drops from 55 to 51 seats. If Hendel and Zelicha join the Netanyahu bloc, it would rise to 56 seats. Conversely, if they join the Eisenkot bloc, it would reach 55 seats, making that bloc dependent on an alliance with Ra'am to achieve a majority of over 61 seats.

The new party's entry also affects individual party standings. Yesh Atid and Likud each lost a seat, falling to 23 and 20 seats respectively, while Yesh also dropped to 13 seats. The Democratic party, Otzma Yehudit, United Torah Judaism, and the Joint Arab List each lost one seat compared to the previous week's poll, now holding 8, 8, and 7 seats respectively.

Ra'am saw an increase to 6 seats from 5, and Religious Zionism also rose to 6 seats following their union with Moshe Feiglin. In terms of prime ministerial suitability, Netanyahu leads Bennett 37% to 32%, but trails Eisenkot 38% to 35%. Between Bennett and Eisenkot, the Yesh Atid chairman leads significantly with 36% compared to Eisenkot's 17%.