Likud Leads as Haredi Parties Hold Steady and Bennett's Support Continues to Decline

A surprising new poll by Kan News reveals the current Israeli political landscape ahead of the 2026 elections. The Likud party, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, remains the largest party with 24 seats, narrowly ahead of Gadi Eizenkot's Yisrael party, which holds 23 seats. Despite the current coalition failing to secure a majority of 61 seats, Netanyahu continues to lead both in parliamentary representation and public preference for prime minister, with 41% support compared to Eizenkot's 34%.

The ultra-Orthodox parties Shas and United Torah Judaism maintain stable support, each securing 8 seats. Meanwhile, the right-wing Otzma Yehudit party, led by Itamar Ben-Gvir, drops one seat to 8, while the Religious Zionist Party under Bezalel Smotrich gains strength, rising to 5 seats. The Yamina party, led by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, experiences a significant decline, falling to just 13 seats.

Other parties such as Yisrael Beiteinu, led by Avigdor Lieberman, and the Democrats, led by Yair Golan, both increase their representation to 10 seats each. Among Arab parties, Ra'am strengthens to 6 seats, and Hadash-Ta'al holds steady at 5 seats. Newly formed parties by Hili Tropper and Yoaz Hendel, as well as Gilad Erdan and Yuli Edelstein, fail to cross the electoral threshold, as do Blue and White under Dedi Simchi and Balad.

The Netanyahu bloc overall gains one seat compared to the previous poll, now totaling 53 seats. The poll also highlights social trends, noting that about 20% of respondents have recently considered emigrating, and one-third personally know someone who left Israel in the past two years. Bennett commented on Netanyahu's leadership, stating, "Netanyahu is not evil but must go; he is nearing 80 and I do not want to see him in jail."