Netanyahu Regains Lead as Gadi Eizenkot Strengthens Opposition Bloc in New Poll

A new poll by Channel 12 released on Monday shows that if elections were held today, Likud would be the largest party in Israel with 24 seats. Gadi Eizenkot's party, Yisrael!, continues to gain strength within the anti-Netanyahu bloc, increasing by one seat to 22 mandates, while Naftali Bennett's Yachdut loses one seat, now holding 17. Despite these shifts, the overall balance remains unchanged: the Zionist opposition holds 58 seats and the current coalition 52.

Other parties maintain their standings with Shas and Yisrael Beiteinu each holding steady at 9 seats. Otzma Yehudit drops by one seat to 8, while United Torah Judaism remains stable at 7 seats. The Hadash-Ta'al alliance loses one seat to 5, whereas Ra'am gains one seat, also reaching 5. The Religious Zionist Party remains above the electoral threshold with 4 seats. Parties below the threshold include Blue and White (2.5%), The Reservists (2.2%), and Balad (1.4%).

The poll also explored a scenario where Blue and White, The Reservists, and Dedi Simchi's faction unite under Benny Gantz, which would increase their combined seats to 6. This would reduce the coalition bloc to 50 seats and the Zionist opposition to 54, with Arab parties maintaining 10 seats. In this scenario, Likud would drop to 22 seats, Eizenkot's party to 20, and Bennett's to 15.

Regarding the preferred prime minister, Netanyahu regains his lead over Eizenkot after four weeks, with 37% support compared to 36% for Eizenkot. Netanyahu also leads Bennett (40% to 32%) and Avigdor Lieberman (40% to 23%).

Public opinion on the recent Israel-Lebanon agreement shows 46% support, 19% opposition, and 35% undecided, with higher support among opposition voters (54%) than coalition supporters (44%). Additionally, 60% oppose the legislative deal between Netanyahu and ultra-Orthodox parties involving Torah study laws and legal reforms, while 26% support it.