Gadi Eizenkot’s Yisra Strengthens Lead Over Netanyahu’s Likud in New Poll

A recent News 12 poll conducted on August 10, 2026, shows Gadi Eizenkot’s party, Yisra, leading as the largest faction with 24 Knesset seats, gaining one seat since the previous poll. In contrast, Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party dropped to 22 seats, making it the second-largest party. Naftali Bennett’s Yachdut party increased to 15 seats, while the Democrats under Yair Golan rose to 11 seats. Other parties such as Yisrael Beiteinu (Avigdor Lieberman) and Otzma Yehudit (Itamar Ben-Gvir) also saw gains, with 10 and 8 seats respectively. Religious parties like Yahadut HaTorah and Shas maintained their strength, while the Arab parties Hadash-Ta’al, Ra’am, and the Joint List each secured 5 seats.

The poll highlights that all parties in the so-called "third bloc," including the newly entered party of former ambassador and minister Gilad Erdan, fail to cross the 3.25% electoral threshold. Erdan’s right-wing party received only 1.3%, while Blue and White led by Benny Gantz received 0.8%. The third bloc’s combined strength would be 6 seats if unified.

Regarding political blocs, the anti-Netanyahu coalition holds 70 seats, including 60 Zionist opposition seats and 10 Arab seats, while the pro-coalition bloc has 50 seats. Hypothetical scenarios of Arab party mergers and third bloc alliances show shifts within the opposition but maintain the overall seat count. If the third bloc unites and joins the opposition, it could form a majority of 63 seats.

On leadership suitability, Eizenkot leads Netanyahu 40% to 35% as the preferred prime minister candidate. Naftali Bennett also leads Netanyahu in a separate comparison. Netanyahu remains the preferred figure to manage relations with U.S. President Donald Trump, with 39% support, followed by Eizenkot at 17%. Most respondents (63%) believe Trump, not Netanyahu, currently shapes Israel’s security policy.

Regarding security issues, 62% doubt Israel will ever achieve a "complete victory" in Gaza, though 64% support continuing military operations against Hamas despite U.S. calls to end the conflict. On Iran, 36% favor Israel launching a unilateral attack, while 44% oppose it. The survey was conducted via internet and phone with a representative sample of 502 Israeli adults, with a margin of error of 4.4%.