Gadi Eizenkot's Yashar! Surges to 23 Seats as Netanyahu's Likud Falls to 20 in New Poll

A new poll by Maariv reveals a significant shift in Israeli political support, with Gadi Eizenkot's party Yashar! rising to a record 23 seats, surpassing Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud, which dropped to a historic low of 20 seats since June 2025. Yashar! now leads Likud by three seats.

In the opposition bloc, the Together party increased to 17 seats, and Yisrael Beiteinu rose to 10 seats. The Democrats maintained stability with 11 seats following their primaries. Conversely, the Israel Foundations party, led by Hili Tropper and Yoaz Hendel, failed to cross the electoral threshold, garnering only 2.9% support.

Within the coalition, Otzma Yehudit gained one seat to reach eight, matching Shas and United Torah Judaism, both stable. The Religious Zionist Party also improved by one seat to five. The opposition bloc holds a slim majority with 61 seats, down by one, while Netanyahu's coalition stands at 49 seats. Arab parties remain steady at 10 seats. Parties below the threshold include Israel Foundations, Balad (1.7%), and Blue and White (1.6%).

A hypothetical merger between Tropper and Hendel's Israel Foundations and Yashar! would yield 27 seats, widening the gap over Likud but reducing Together to 14 seats. This scenario does not alter the bloc distribution: 61 seats for the Zionist opposition, 49 for the coalition, and 10 for Arab parties.

Regarding prime ministerial suitability, Naftali Bennett leads Netanyahu with 45% to 42%, a gap largely unchanged since early June. Netanyahu trails Eizenkot by six points (40% to 46%) and is significantly behind Bennett in a direct comparison with Eizenkot, who leads with 38% over Bennett's 23%.