New Poll Shows Yishar Leading, Likud Weakening Ahead of Election
Translated & summarized from N12 by baba
A Channel 12 News poll released October 12, 2026, shows Gadi Eisenkot's Yishar party as the largest with 23 mandates, while Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party weakens to 20 mandates. The opposition bloc is projected to have 67 mandates, potentially forming a coalition without Netanyahu. Eisenkot has also widened his lead over Netanyahu in suitability for prime minister, now at 45% versus 35%. Ofer Winter's Am Israel party remains below the electoral threshold.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- Gadi Eisenkot's Yishar party leads a new poll with 23 mandates, ahead of Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud with 20.
- The opposition bloc is projected to secure 67 mandates, potentially excluding Netanyahu from forming a government.
- Gadi Eisenkot has increased his lead over Benjamin Netanyahu in suitability for prime minister to 10 percentage points.
- Naftali Bennett's party holds 13 mandates, while Shas and Otzma Yehudit each gain 8 mandates.
- Ofer Winter's Am Israel party remains below the electoral threshold in the latest poll.
- The poll was conducted by Midgam Consulting and Research and released on October 12, 2026.
A new poll released by Channel 12 News indicates that if elections for the 26th Knesset were held today, Gadi Eisenkot's Yishar party would emerge as the largest faction with 23 mandates. This result is consistent with the previous poll. Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party is projected to weaken, receiving 20 mandates, while Naftali Bennett's Together party would maintain its strength with 13 mandates.
The Democrats, led by Yair Golan, and Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu are both polling at 9 mandates. The Joint List, under Yosef Jabareen, is expected to secure 8 mandates. Aryeh Deri's Shas party shows a strengthening trend, gaining 8 mandates for the first time since August. Itamar Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit also gains 8 mandates, while Yaakov Asher's United Torah Judaism is projected to decline to 7 mandates.
Bezalel Smotrich's Religious Zionism and Identity list is holding steady with 6 mandates, as is Mansour Abbas's Ra'am party with 5 mandates. The Reservists and New Economy list, led by Yoaz Hendel and Yaron Zelekha, also maintains its current standing with 4 mandates.
Notably, Ofer Winter's Am Israel party remains below the electoral threshold for the second consecutive poll, receiving only 1.8%. Benny Gantz's Blue and White party garners 0.9%, Avi Maoz's Noam party receives 0.5%, and Moti Litner's Haredi Public party is at 0.1%.
Regarding bloc alignments, the opposition bloc against Netanyahu is projected to hold 67 mandates, comprising 54 from Zionist parties and 13 from Arab parties. The potential coalition bloc is estimated at 49 mandates, with the "third bloc" of Hendel and Zelekha holding 4 mandates.
In terms of suitability for prime minister, Eisenkot has widened his lead over Netanyahu, with 45% preferring Eisenkot compared to Netanyahu's 35%. This is an increase from a 3% gap in the previous poll. Bennett also shows a slight lead over Netanyahu for the premiership, with 37% supporting Bennett versus 36% for Netanyahu, reversing the previous poll's result where Netanyahu held a 4% advantage. Netanyahu maintains a lead over Lieberman, 35% to 27%, though this gap has narrowed significantly from 17% in the prior survey.
The poll was conducted by Midgam Consulting and Research, led by Mano Geva, with data collected on October 12, 2026. The sample included 509 respondents out of 2,521 initially contacted, with a maximum margin of error of +/- 4.4%.
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