Netanyahu's Likud and Gadi Eizenkot's Yisrael Tied in New Israeli Election Poll

A recent poll by Channel 12 News reveals a historic tie between Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party and former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot's Yisrael party, each securing 23 Knesset seats if elections were held today. This marks the first time Yisrael matches Likud's strength amid Eizenkot's rising popularity. The third-largest party is Yamina, led by Naftali Bennett, which declined to 16 seats. The Democratic Party under Yair Golan holds 10 seats, followed by Israel Beytenu and Otzma Yehudit with nine seats each. Shas and United Torah Judaism have eight seats apiece, while Hadash-Ta'al increased to six seats. Religious Zionism and Ra'am each hold four seats, with Blue and White, the Reservists' Party, and Balad falling below the electoral threshold.

Despite shifts within blocs, the overall balance remains unchanged: the Zionist opposition holds 58 seats, and the current coalition 52, leaving neither side able to form a government independently. A hypothetical joint list of Blue and White and the Reservists' Party fails to pass the threshold, slightly increasing opposition seats to 69 and reducing the coalition to 51. Another scenario involving a new party formed by Yuli Edelstein, Gilad Erdan, Benny Gantz, Yoaz Hendel, and Ayelet Shaked gains six seats but does not enable government formation by either bloc.

Regarding leadership preferences, Eizenkot slightly surpasses Netanyahu for prime minister suitability (38% vs. 37%), while Netanyahu leads Bennett and Lieberman. Notably, 21% of coalition voters consider switching to non-coalition parties due to recent legislative moves, and 87% express concern about a government including Arab parties.

The poll was conducted on July 6, 2026, with a representative sample of 503 Israeli adults and a margin of error of ±4.4%.