Trooper and Handel Pass Electoral Threshold as Change Bloc Surpasses 60 Seats in New Poll

A new poll published on July 27, 2026, by Channel 12 News reveals that if elections were held today, the party led by Gadi Eizenkot, Yisra, would be the largest in Israel with 23 seats, one less than in last week's survey. The Likud, headed by Benjamin Netanyahu, follows closely with 22 seats, also down by one. The Yachdut party under Naftali Bennett holds 14 seats, and the Democrats led by Yair Golan have 10 seats, both losing one seat compared to the previous poll.

Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu maintains its strength with 9 seats, unchanged from before. Shas, United Torah Judaism, and Otzma Yehudit each hold steady at 8 seats. The Joint List and Ra'am each secure 5 seats, while the Religious Zionism party led by Bezalel Smotrich has 4 seats. Notably, for the first time, the party of Hili Trooper and Yoaz Hendel, Beit Tzioni HaMiluaim, crosses the electoral threshold.

Parties below the threshold include Blue and White with 1.6% and Balad with 1.2%. With Trooper and Hendel’s party entering the Knesset, the anti-Netanyahu bloc rises to 70 seats, including 60 seats for Zionist opposition parties, while the coalition parties hold only 50 seats.

The poll also explored a scenario where Hadash, Ta'al, and Balad unite into a single list. This would slightly weaken Likud to 21 seats, strengthen Otzma Yehudit to 9 seats, and give the Arab parties' union 6 seats, one more than running separately. Ra'am would drop to 4 seats, with other parties unchanged and no shift in bloc distribution.

Regarding prime minister preferences, both Eizenkot and Netanyahu receive equal 38% support, while Netanyahu leads Bennett 40% to 34%, and also leads Lieberman 39% to 25%. About 9.8% of voters remain undecided, with 50% very sure of their vote and 40% fairly sure. Among those switching parties, 44% cited dissatisfaction with party performance, 29% were influenced by the October 7 war, and 8% plan to vote for a new or merged party.

Security and war management are the top issues influencing voters (32%), followed by the economy and cost of living (25%), social division (15%), personal security and crime prevention (12%), and leadership (12%). The survey was conducted by Meno Geva’s Consulting and Research on July 27, 2026, with a representative sample of 509 respondents aged 18 and over, using internet and phone methods, with a margin of error of ±4.4%.