Poll Shows Arab Joint List at 7 Seats, Gantz Leads Netanyahu in PM Preference

A new Israeli public opinion poll released Sunday indicates the Arab Joint List, comprising the Democratic Front for Peace and Equality, the National Democratic Assembly, and the Arab Movement for Change, would secure 7 seats in an election. Former IDF Chief of Staff Gantz continues to outperform Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in terms of preferred party seat count and suitability for the premiership.

The survey, published by the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (Kan 11), shows Gantz's party, 'Hosen L'Yisrael' (Israel Resilience Party), winning 23 seats if elections were held today. This places it three seats ahead of the Likud party. Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and his 'Yachad' alliance, which includes current opposition leader Yair Lapid, would receive 13 seats.

Detailed seat projections include: Hosen L'Yisrael 23, Likud 20, Yachad (Bennett-Lapid) 13, Democrats (Labor-Meretz) 8, Yahadut HaTorah 8, Shas 7, Otzma Yehudit 7, Yisrael Beiteinu 7, the Arab Joint List 7, United Arab List 6, Religious Zionism 6, Amichai Israel 4, and Hendel-Zelicha alliance 4.

In this scenario, the bloc of parties opposing Netanyahu would garner 51 seats, while Netanyahu's bloc would have 52. The Hendel-Zelicha alliance's four seats remain unaligned. The two Arab lists combined would secure 13 seats.

Regarding preferred prime minister, Gantz leads Netanyahu, who in turn leads Bennett. Gantz holds 38% support compared to Netanyahu's 35%, with 27% deeming neither suitable. Netanyahu has 37% support against Bennett's 32%, with 31% finding both unsuitable. Among opposition voters specifically, Gantz leads Bennett 54% to 27%.

The poll also asked about Netanyahu's conduct on the morning of October 7th, following reports he spoke with the IDF Chief of Staff three hours after the Hamas attack. 62% rated his conduct as "not good," while 26% considered it "good."

The survey was conducted on September 6, 2026, by the Kantar Institute, with 551 participants out of 2,450 invited. It used an online sample with a margin of error of ±4.2%.