Poll Shows New Party Surpasses Threshold, Key Figures Miss Knesset Cut
Translated & summarized from Walla by baba
A new poll shows Ofer Winter's "Am Israel" party surpassing the electoral threshold for the Knesset, while Yoaz Hendel and Yaron Zelicha's list failed to qualify. The poll also projected seat allocations for major parties and bloc formations.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- New poll shows Ofer Winter's "Am Israel" party crossing Knesset threshold.
- Yoaz Hendel and Yaron Zelicha's list fails to pass electoral threshold.
- Gadi Eisenkot's "Yashar!" leads with 25 projected Knesset seats.
- Netanyahu's bloc projected at 51 seats, opposition at 57.
- Poll conducted September 9, 2026, surveyed 506 respondents.
A new poll released Wednesday, one day after the deadline for submitting Knesset lists, indicates significant shifts among smaller parties vying to cross the electoral threshold. The "Am Israel" party, led by Ofer Winter, has gained momentum, securing 3.5% of the vote and qualifying for four Knesset seats. Conversely, the "Reservists and Economists" list, headed by Yoaz Hendel and Professor Yaron Zelicha, failed to pass the threshold with only 2.8% support.
In the overall seat distribution, "Yashar!" led by Gadi Eisenkot remains the largest party with 25 mandates. The Likud party follows with 21 seats. Naftali Bennett's "Achdut" party is projected to receive 14 mandates, while Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu and Yair Golan's Democrats each garnered 9 seats.
Other parties projected to enter the Knesset include Otzma Yehudit (Itamar Ben-Gvir), United Torah Judaism (Yaakov Asher), Shas (Aryeh Deri), and the Joint List (Hadash-Ta'al and Balad), each with 7 seats. The United Religious Zionism and Identity list (Bezalel Smotrich and Moshe Feiglin) and Ra'am (Mansour Abbas) are each expected to win 5 seats, with "Am Israel" rounding out the list at 4 seats.
Bloc calculations show the current Netanyahu coalition, including Winter's party, would hold 51 mandates. The Zionist opposition bloc would secure 57 seats, and Arab parties would collectively receive 12 mandates.
Several lists fell short of the 3.25% electoral threshold, including "Reservists and Economists" (2.8%), "Ahi" (Rabbi Aberjil, 1.1%), Blue and White (Benny Gantz, 0.9%), "Haredi Public" (0.2%), and "Noam L'Yisrael" (0.2%). The poll was conducted by Lazar Research on September 9, 2026, surveying 506 respondents.
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