New Poll Shows Netanyahu Bloc Leading Despite Likud's Historic Low

A new poll released by Channel 13 indicates a significant shift in Israeli political blocs, with the coalition led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu now holding a narrow lead, despite the Likud party experiencing an unprecedented slump in support. If elections were held today, Gadi Eisenkot's "Yashar" party would emerge as the largest single party with 22 mandates. Netanyahu's Likud party is at a historic low, polling at only 18 mandates.

Naftali Bennett's "Bihad" party has weakened to 12 mandates, while Yair Golan's "HaDemokratim" remains stable with 10. In terms of leadership, Eisenkot leads Benjamin Netanyahu in suitability for prime minister, with 45% support compared to Netanyahu's 36%. The poll also shows a surge for the right-wing bloc, with the union of Religious Zionism and "Identity" reaching 8 mandates, the same as Itamar Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit, Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu, and the Joint List.

United Torah Judaism and Shas each garnered 7 mandates. Ofer Winter's "Am Yisrael" is projected to win 6 mandates, safely above the electoral threshold, as is Mansour Abbas's Ra'am party. Parties failing to cross the threshold include Yoaz Hendel and Yaron Zelicha's lists, the "Haredi Public" party, and Benny Gantz's Blue and White, which is at a deep low with less than 1% of the vote.

The bloc breakdown shows Netanyahu's coalition bloc with 54 mandates, narrowly ahead of Eisenkot's bloc, which has fallen to 52 mandates. Arab parties collectively hold 14 mandates. The poll also addressed public opinion on the controversial film "Nezah," with 68% disbelieving its claims of intentional killings in Gaza, and 48% believing the film should be banned from screening in Israel.

The survey was conducted by The Index (Shmuel Rosner, Nach Salkover) in collaboration with Stat-Net (Yosef Mekloda), The Sample Project (Dr. Ariel Ayalon), and Ascaria (Dodi Dror). Statistical consulting was provided by Prof. David Steinberg. The poll included 886 respondents with a margin of error of 3.3%.