Israeli Polls Show Tight Race Between Netanyahu and Eisenkot

Recent polls published by Israeli television channels indicate a close contest between Benny Netanyahu's Likud party and Gadi Eisenkot's "Yahad" party, with "Be-yahad" led by Naftali Bennett consistently placing third. While "Yahad" and Likud are leading in all surveyed polls, the margin between them varies significantly, ranging from one seat in a Kan poll to five seats in an i24NEWS poll. Other parties, including "Otzma Yehudit," Yisrael Beiteinu (NDI), and Ra'am, also show fluctuations within a few seats across the different surveys.

The overall balance between the pro-Netanyahu coalition bloc and the opposition bloc remains uncertain. Polls from Kan and i24NEWS suggest the opposition holds a slight advantage, though the exact seat distribution differs. A Channel 13 poll shows a three-seat difference between Eisenkot and Netanyahu, with "Be-yahad" and "Democrats" securing 13 and 10 seats respectively. In this specific poll, "Otzma Yehudit" gains significantly to 9 seats, while Yisrael Beiteinu and United Torah Judaism each receive 8 seats. The Channel 13 poll also indicates a near-even split between the coalition and opposition blocs, with 53 seats each, while Arab parties collectively garner 14 seats.

Specific seat allocations vary across the polls. For example, the Kan poll shows "Yahad" with 24 seats and Likud with 21, while the i24NEWS poll has Likud leading with 27 seats and "Yahad" with 22. The Channel 12/Mako poll places "Yahad" at 25 seats and Likud at 21. The overall picture suggests no clear advantage for either the coalition or opposition bloc at this stage.