Gadi Eizenkot Surpasses Likud Despite Party’s Gains in New Mandate Poll
Translated & summarized from Maariv by baba
The Likud party gained two mandates in a recent poll, but Gadi Eizenkot’s "Yashar!" party grew more. Netanyahu’s coalition and the opposition both increased their mandates, with Eizenkot leading as the preferred prime minister candidate.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- Likud gained 2 mandates but Eizenkot’s party grew even more in the latest poll.
- Bennett and Lapid’s "Together" party received 13 mandates; Democrats got 11.
- Netanyahu’s coalition rose to 51 mandates; opposition bloc to 69 mandates.
- Troper and Zandberg’s lost mandates split evenly between political blocs.
- Eizenkot leads as preferred prime minister with 47%; Netanyahu at 38%.
- Bennett narrowly leads Netanyahu 43% to 42% in prime minister suitability.
In the latest Knesset mandate poll by Channel 13 News on August 19, 2026, the Likud party increased its seats by two, yet Gadi Eizenkot’s party "Yashar!" grew even more significantly. Notably, Aryeh Deri and Yuli Edelstein’s parties failed to pass the electoral threshold, while the mandates lost by Moshe Troper and Tamar Zandberg were evenly split between the pro- and anti-Netanyahu blocs.
The poll results show the "Together" party led by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid securing 13 mandates, the Democrats 11, Israel Beiteinu 9, Otzma Yehudit 8, United Torah Judaism 8, Shas 7, Hadash-Ta’al 5, Ra’am 5, and Religious Zionism 5. The mandates lost by Troper and Zandberg were divided equally, with Netanyahu’s coalition rising to 51 mandates from 49, and the opposition bloc increasing to 69 from 67, including 10 mandates held by Arab parties.
Regarding suitability for prime minister, Gadi Eizenkot remains the frontrunner with 47%, unchanged from the previous poll. Benjamin Netanyahu gained 4 percentage points, reaching 38%, while 15% of respondents were undecided. The contest between Netanyahu and Bennett is tighter, with Bennett favored by 43% compared to Netanyahu’s 42%.
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