Likud Leads Polls, Right-Wing Bloc Maintains Majority

A new poll from Channel 14 indicates the Likud party, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, remains the largest political force in Israel with 30 parliamentary seats. The Yashar party, headed by former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, has seen a surge in support, reaching 20 seats. This political shift follows Benny Gantz's withdrawal from the political race, with 38% of his former voters now favoring Yesh Atid, 12% backing Likud, and 11% supporting Yashar.

Following the redistribution of Gantz's voters, Naftali Bennett's party has dropped to 9 seats, a loss of one mandate. Similarly, the Shas religious movement also decreased from 10 to 9 seats. Yair Golan's Democrats lost one seat, now holding 9 mandates. Conversely, Itamar Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit gained a seat to reach 8, and United Torah Judaism maintained its 8 seats.

The Religious Zionism bloc, along with the Zehut party, holds a stable 7 seats. Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu retains 6 seats. The Arab party Ra'am gained one seat to reach 6, while a joint bloc of Arab parties increased its representation to 8 seats.

Several parties failed to cross the electoral threshold, including "Reservists-Economy" with 2.5% support, Ofer Winter's "Amcha Yisrael" with 1.9%, "Noam Yisrael" with 0.9%, and "Ahi - Return to Roots" with 0.4%. The ultra-Orthodox list "Charedi" garnered 0.9%.

Overall, the right-wing bloc is projected to hold 62 seats, maintaining its majority. The center-left opposition bloc has weakened to 44 seats. Arab parties collectively increased their representation to 14 seats.

In a hypothetical race for Prime Minister, Netanyahu leads with 55% support, followed by Eisenkot at 31%, Bennett at 8%, and Lieberman at 6%. A direct comparison shows Netanyahu ahead of Eisenkot 56% to 44%. The poll surveyed 2,116 adult Israeli citizens and was analyzed by sociologist Shlomo Filber.