Bennett's Party Plummets to 13 Seats While Hendel and Trooper's New Party Gains 5

A new poll by 'HaMidah' published on Wednesday by Channel 13 reveals significant shifts in Israel's political landscape ahead of upcoming elections. The 'Yahad' party, led by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, continues its sharp decline, dropping to just 13 Knesset seats. This marks a continued downward trend, with the party losing 12 seats over the past 13 weeks.

Meanwhile, the Likud party under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the 'Yashar!' party led by Gadi Eizenkot are tied at 23 seats each, both gaining two seats since last week’s poll. Another notable development is the rise of the new party led by Hili Trooper and Yoaz Hendel, which has surged to 5 seats, potentially becoming a kingmaker in coalition talks. This is a significant increase from previous polls where the party struggled to pass the electoral threshold.

Among the religious parties, United Torah Judaism holds steady at 9 seats, Shas drops to 7 seats under Aryeh Deri, Otzma Yehudit led by Itamar Ben-Gvir has 8 seats, and Religious Zionism led by Bezalel Smotrich falls to 4 seats. In the Arab sector, Ra'am under Mansour Abbas and Hadash-Ta'al each secure 5 and 4 seats respectively.

The opposition bloc leads with 55 seats, while the current coalition holds 51 seats, and Arab parties combined have 9 seats. The Democrats, led by Yair Golan, decline by two seats to 9, and Yisrael Beiteinu under Avigdor Lieberman maintains 10 seats. Blue and White led by Benny Gantz and Balad remain below the electoral threshold.

These results indicate a fragmented political field with potential shifts in coalition dynamics, especially with the rise of Hendel and Trooper’s party as a possible decisive factor in government formation.