Netanyahu Gains Ground in Latest Israeli Election Poll

A new poll released Tuesday by Israel's Channel 12 News indicates a shift in public preference for prime minister, with Benjamin Netanyahu regaining the lead over Naftali Bennett. The survey, conducted 35 days before the 26th Knesset elections, shows 41% of respondents favoring Netanyahu for prime minister, compared to 37% for Bennett. This marks a reversal from the previous week's poll, where Bennett held a slight edge.

Netanyahu has also narrowed the gap with Gadi Eisenkot, who continues to lead in the hypothetical matchup. Eisenkot garners 41% support versus Netanyahu's 38%. In the prior survey, Eisenkot led Netanyahu by six percentage points.

The poll also presented a projection of Knesset seats. Eisenkot's party remains in first place with 23 mandates, followed by Netanyahu's Likud with 20, and Bennett's party with 13. Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu gains one mandate to reach 9, while Yair Golan's Democrats drop to 9 mandates. The Haredi parties, United Torah Judaism and Shas, maintain 8 and 7 mandates respectively, totaling 15. The Joint List loses one mandate to 7. Itamar Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit holds steady at 6 mandates, and Bezalel Smotrich's Religious Zionism and Zehut secure 5. Mansour Abbas's Ra'am gains one mandate to reach 5. Ofer Winter's Am Israel receives 4 mandates, as do Yoaz Hendel and Yaron Zelekha's parties. Notably, Benny Gantz's Blue and White party falls below the electoral threshold with 0.7% of the vote.

Despite shifts in individual party support, the overall bloc configuration remains unchanged. The bloc opposing Netanyahu is projected to win 66 mandates, while the coalition bloc secures 50. Hendel and Zelekha's party is categorized as part of a "third bloc" with 4 mandates.

The survey was conducted by Midgam Research and Consulting on September 22nd, with responses from 501 individuals out of 2,498 contacted. The maximum margin of error is 4.4%.