Poll Shows Coalition Gaining, Opposition Weakening Amid Security Fears

A new poll indicates a narrowing gap between Israel's political blocs, with the coalition gaining two seats to reach 51 mandates and the opposition losing the same number, falling to 53. The most significant trend is the continued decline of the Yishar party, led by Gadi Eisenkot, which has lost another seat and now stands at 21 mandates, a drop of four seats in a month. Conversely, the Likud, Shas, and United Torah Judaism parties each gained one seat. In the full mandate distribution, Yishar leads with 21 seats, followed by Likud with 19. The "Beitenu" party maintains its strength with 13 seats, the Democrats weaken to 10, Yisrael Beiteinu and Otzma Yehudit each receive 9, and the Joint List is stable with 7. United Torah Judaism and Shas also secure 7 mandates each. The Religious Zionism and Identity lists weaken to 5 mandates, similar to Ra'am. The "Am Israel" and "Reservists and Economic" lists are at the bottom with 4 mandates each, close to the electoral threshold. Meanwhile, the percentage of undecided voters has dropped to 6.4% this week.

In terms of prime ministerial preference, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is gradually improving his standing. He has narrowed the gap with Gadi Eisenkot to 6%, with Netanyahu receiving 41% of the vote compared to Eisenkot's 47%. The gap with Naftali Bennett remains stable, with Bennett leading 45% to Netanyahu's 41%. The Prime Minister holds a significant advantage over Avigdor Lieberman, with 44% to Lieberman's 39%.

A separate part of the poll, conducted by Lazar Research Institute in collaboration with Panel for All, reveals a concerning public sentiment regarding security. A significant majority of Israelis, 67%, report feeling worried or very worried about another security event on the scale of the October 7th attack. Only 26% stated they are not concerned about such a scenario. This fear transcends political affiliations, though it is more pronounced among opposition voters, with 77% expressing concern compared to 65% of coalition voters.