New Poll Shows Exact Tie Between Blocs, Hendel Emerges as Kingmaker

A new poll released Monday by pollster Dudi Hassed presents a surprising political landscape, with Gadi Eisenkot's "Yashar" party leading with 24 seats and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party securing 20 seats. The most significant finding, however, is an exact 52-52 tie between the two major political blocs. Netanyahu's bloc and the bloc aligned with Eisenkot each garnered 52 seats.

In this scenario, the four seats won by Yoaz Hendel's "HaMiluimnikim VeHaKalkalit" (Reservists and Economic) party would fall outside either bloc, potentially positioning Hendel as a crucial player in coalition formation negotiations. Other parties' seat allocations include Naftali Bennett's "Beitenu" with 12 seats, "HaDemokrattim" with 8, "Otzma Yehudit" with 8, and Avigdor Lieberman's "Yisrael Beiteinu" also with 8.

Among the Haredi parties, United Torah Judaism and Shas each received 7 seats, while the "Haredi Public Party" remained well below the electoral threshold. The Joint List garnered 7 seats, "Religious Zionism" received 6, Mansour Abbas's Ra'am secured 5, and Ofer Winter's "Amcha Yisrael" party obtained 4 seats.

This latest survey presents a different picture compared to recent polls. A "Kan News" poll from the previous week showed a one-seat advantage for Netanyahu's bloc, with Likud at 20 and "Yashar" at 23. In that poll, Hendel and Yaron Zelikha's joint list received 4 seats. A "Channel 12 News" poll days earlier gave "Yashar" 25 seats and Likud 21, with Winter's party at 5 seats and Hendel's party failing to pass the threshold.

The new Hassed poll thus indicates a complete deadlock between the blocs, with Hendel's party clearing the electoral threshold and potentially becoming the decisive factor.