Poll Shows Benny Gantz Leading Netanyahu in Prime Minister Preference

A new poll published by Maariv newspaper indicates that Benny Gantz, leader of the "Yashar" party, is ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by 8 percentage points in preference for the role of prime minister. Gantz garnered 47% support compared to Netanyahu's 39%. The survey, conducted by Lazar Research in collaboration with Panel4ALL, also showed "Yashar" leading with 22 Knesset seats, followed by the Likud party with 18 seats. Naftali Bennett's "Bayahad" party secured 13 seats, and the "Democrats" received 11 seats.

The poll revealed a decline in the strength of the ruling coalition, led by Netanyahu, to 49 seats, while the opposition bloc rose to 55 seats. Arab parties collectively obtained 12 seats, with the Joint Arab List receiving 7 and the United Arab List receiving 5, contingent on their eligibility to run as determined by the Supreme Court. Ultra-Orthodox parties Shas and United Torah Judaism each lost a seat, settling at 6.

Regarding the prime ministerial race, Naftali Bennett also showed a preference advantage over Netanyahu, with 46% to 42%. Avigdor Lieberman trailed Netanyahu by 3 percentage points, 43% to 40%. Among opposition voters, 48% prefer party leaders to pre-declare their candidate for prime minister based on the list that wins the most seats.

Overall, 34% of Israelis want Netanyahu as prime minister after the elections, with 82% of coalition voters supporting him. However, among opposition voters, Gantz is the preferred candidate at 50%, followed by Bennett at 25%, Yair Lapid at 11%, Netanyahu at 5%, and Lieberman at 3%. A significant majority of Israelis, 62%, expressed concern over Israel's declining international standing, with 88% of opposition voters particularly worried.