Gadi Eizenkot's Yisra Party Surpasses Likud as Israel's Largest in New Poll

A recent poll conducted by Lazar Research in collaboration with Panel4ALL and published by Maariv reveals a significant shift in Israel's political landscape. For the first time, the Yisra party, led by Gadi Eizenkot, has overtaken the Likud party to become the largest party in the Knesset, securing 22 seats, a gain of two since the last poll and a remarkable increase of ten seats since the April merger of Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid.

Likud remains steady with 21 seats, while the coalition party 'Together' drops by one seat to 18. The opposition bloc strengthens to 60 seats, contrasting with a dramatic weakening of the coalition bloc, which falls to a low of 49 seats. Both Yisrael Beiteinu, led by Avigdor Lieberman, and the Democrats maintain their positions with 10 seats each.

Religious and ultra-Orthodox parties show relative stability, with Shas, United Torah Judaism, and Otzma Yehudit each holding eight seats. However, the Religious Zionism party, headed by Bezalel Smotrich, suffers a sharp decline to just four seats, barely above the electoral threshold. This drop is attributed to a new political alliance between Hili Tropper and Yoaz Hendel, which garners 2.9% of the vote but fails to cross the threshold, siphoning right-wing votes and weakening the coalition.

Arab parties maintain steady representation, with the Hadash-Ta'al list winning six seats and Mansour Abbas's Ra'am party securing five, totaling 11 seats for Arab representation in the Knesset. Overall, the poll indicates a clear majority for the anti-Netanyahu camp with 60 seats, while Netanyahu's supporters hold only 49 seats, with Arab parties occupying the remaining 11.

The poll underscores a volatile political environment ahead of upcoming elections, highlighting Eizenkot's rising influence and Netanyahu's challenges in maintaining his coalition majority.