Gadi Eizenkot's Yisrael! Gains Strength as Netanyahu's Likud Also Rises in Latest Poll

A new Channel 12 poll published on July 20, 2026, shows that the political party Yisrael!, led by former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot, has strengthened its position to become the largest party in Israel with 24 Knesset seats, gaining one seat since last week. Eizenkot also continues to lead in the prime ministerial preference, receiving 43% support compared to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's 37%, though Netanyahu's Likud party has also increased by one seat to 23 mandates.

Other notable shifts include a decline for Naftali Bennett's Yachdut HaBrit to 15 seats and Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu dropping to 9 seats. Yair Golan's Democratic Camp rose to 11 seats, while the ultra-Orthodox parties Shas, United Torah Judaism, and Otzma Yehudit remain steady at 8 seats each. The Religious Zionism party, led by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, fell below the electoral threshold with 4 seats. Arab parties maintain a combined total of 10 seats.

The poll also explored coalition dynamics, revealing that opposition voters prefer forming a government supported externally by an Arab party (44%) over new elections (28%) or a unity government with Likud (13%). Coalition voters largely approve of the recent deal between Netanyahu and the ultra-Orthodox parties, with 59% satisfied and 70% wanting the Haredi parties in the next coalition.

Hypothetical scenarios involving new party formations and alliances, such as a merger between Benny Gantz and Dedi Simchi or a joint run by Gilad Erdan and Yuli Edelstein alongside a new party by Ofer Winter, show minimal impact on the overall seat distribution. In these scenarios, Yisrael! and Likud each gain 25 seats, while the opposition bloc strengthens slightly to 60 seats (70 including Arab parties), and the coalition drops to 50 seats.

The survey was conducted by Meno Geva's Consulting and Research on a representative sample of 507 Israeli adults, with a margin of error of ±4.4%. Data collection was via internet and telephone.