Opposition Bloc Gains Strength with 61 Seats in Latest Israeli Poll

A Channel 13 news poll released on Wednesday evening shows that if elections were held today, the opposition bloc, including the party led by Hendel and Trooper, would secure 61 seats in the Knesset. In contrast, the coalition bloc headed by Benjamin Netanyahu would hold only 50 seats. The Arab parties are projected to receive 9 seats.

According to the poll, Netanyahu's Likud party remains steady with 22 seats. The "Yashar!" party led by Gadi Eizenkot is the second largest with 21 seats, down by two from the previous poll. The "Together" party led by Naftali Bennett is projected to win 15 seats, while the "Democrats" under Yair Golan rise to 11 seats. Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu holds 10 seats. Other parties include United Torah Judaism with 8 seats, Shas and Otzma Yehudit with 7 each, Religious Zionism with 6, Hadash-Ta'al with 5, and Ra'am dropping to 4 seats.

Notably, the Hendel and Trooper list crosses the electoral threshold for the first time, while Balad and Benny Gantz's Blue and White remain below it. Scenario tests for party mergers indicate that Benny Gantz, Dedi Simchi, and others including Hendel and Trooper would still fail to pass the threshold. A merger of Hadash-Ta'al and Balad would yield 9 seats.

Regarding the Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi's warning letter about the law freezing the detention of draft dodgers, 53% of respondents believe he fulfilled his duty, 29% see it as political interference, and 18% are unsure. When asked about the government's performance after four years, 64% said it was not good for Israeli citizens, 28% said it was good, and 8% did not know.