Gadi Eizenkot Leads Mandate Poll as Likud Gains and Bennett Declines

Gadi Eizenkot's party, Yisrael!, maintains its lead in the latest Maariv poll for the upcoming Knesset elections, holding 23 seats for the second consecutive week. The Likud party strengthens its position with 2 additional seats, rising from 7 to 9, largely due to declines in Otzma Yehudit and Shas, both dropping from 8 to 7 seats. Meanwhile, the faction formed by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, named Beyachad!, falls sharply to 15 seats, a decrease of two from the previous poll and its lowest since their alliance announcement.

The Democratic Party, led by Yair Golan, decreases to 9 seats, while Yisrael Beiteinu remains steady at 10 seats. Hadash-Ta'al and Religious Zionism each hold 5 seats, as does Ra'am. Notably, the party of Hili Tropper and Yoaz Hendel crosses the electoral threshold this week, securing 4 seats, unlike last week when it fell short. Both Balad and Blue and White remain below the threshold.

Overall, Netanyahu's coalition holds 49 seats, while the Zionist opposition bloc drops to 57 seats, with the four seats of the Zionist Home potentially pushing it to a majority of 61. Arab parties maintain their strength with 10 seats. A hypothetical new party led by Benny Gantz, Ayelet Shaked, Yuli Edelstein, and Dedi Simchi is projected to receive 3.8% support, equating to 4 seats, which would push Tropper and Hendel's party below the threshold.

In the prime minister preference poll, Eizenkot leads with 48% against Netanyahu's 38%, marking the widest gap since the question was first asked. When comparing Bennett and Netanyahu, Bennett leads by 5%. Among opposition voters, 45% prefer Eizenkot to lead the center-left bloc, followed by 25% for Bennett, 11% for Avigdor Lieberman, and 10% for Yair Golan, with the remainder undecided.