New Poll Shows Eisenkot's Party Leading, Netanyahu's Likud Declining

A new poll commissioned by the Maariv newspaper and conducted by Lazar Research indicates that if Knesset elections were held today, Gadi Eisenkot's "Yashar" party would secure 25 seats, maintaining its leading position. In contrast, Benjamin Netanyahu's "Likud" party would fall to 19 seats, its lowest result in Maariv polls since May 29, 2025.

The poll also projected "B'Yachad" receiving 14 seats, "Democratim" 10, Yisrael Beiteinu 9, and "Otzma Yehudit" 8. "Yahadut HaTorah," Shas, and the Joint Arab List would each get 7 seats, Ra'am 5, and the "Tzionut Datit" bloc along with "Zeut" 5 seats. Ofer Winter's "Amcha Yisrael" party, for the first time in this poll, crossed the electoral threshold with 4 seats.

The current coalition bloc would strengthen to 50 seats with the inclusion of Winter's party. Opposition Zionist parties would hold 58 seats, and Arab parties 12.

In a separate question regarding suitability for the prime minister position, Gadi Eisenkot held an advantage over Benjamin Netanyahu, with 50% of respondents viewing Eisenkot as more suitable compared to 38% for Netanyahu. Naftali Bennett also outperformed Netanyahu, with 45% favoring Bennett and 40% Netanyahu. Avigdor Lieberman trailed Netanyahu in this ranking, with 38% supporting Lieberman and 41% Netanyahu.

Respondents were also asked about their intention to remain in Israel if their chosen party does not participate in governing after the elections. A significant 79% stated they would stay, while 9% considered leaving, and 12% were undecided. Among supporters of opposition parties, approximately 15% considered leaving, with only 2% definitively stating they would depart.

The survey was conducted between September 9-10, with 601 respondents out of 4,329 invited participants completing the survey. The margin of error is 4%.