New Poll Shows Netanyahu Closing Gap with Opposition Leader Ahead of Election

A new poll released by Channel 12 News, just 35 days before the Knesset elections, indicates a tightening race between the major political parties. The "Yesh" party, led by Gadi Eisenkot, emerged as the largest party with 23 seats, while Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party secured 20 seats. Naftali Bennett's "Yamina" party garnered 13 seats. Compared to the previous poll, these three parties maintained their relative strength.

Several other parties saw shifts in their seat projections. Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu strengthened to 9 seats, while Yair Golan's Democrats weakened to 9 seats. United Torah Judaism held steady with 8 seats, and the Joint List saw a decline to 7 seats. Shas received 7 seats, Otzma Yehudit 6 seats, and Religious Zionism and Identity, led by Bezalel Smotrich and Moshe Feiglin, received 5 seats.

Ra'am, led by Mansour Abbas, gained strength to 5 seats. Ofer Winter's "Am Israel" party received 4 seats. Yoaz Hendel and Yaron Zelekha's "Reservists and the New Economy" party crossed the electoral threshold with 4 seats. Parties falling below the threshold included Benny Gantz's Blue and White with 0.7%, Haredi Public with 0.3%, Noam with 0.1%, and Israel First with 0%.

A significant change was noted in the suitability for prime minister ratings. Eisenkot leads Netanyahu by a narrow margin of 41% to 38%, a three-point difference. In a comparison between Netanyahu and Bennett, Netanyahu leads 41% to 37%. Netanyahu also leads Avigdor Lieberman 38% to 28% in suitability ratings.

The bloc map remained unchanged, with the anti-Netanyahu bloc totaling 66 seats (54 Zionist, 12 Arab). The pro-Netanyahu coalition bloc stands at 50 seats. Hendel and Zelekha's party, in a third bloc, holds 4 seats. The poll was conducted by Midgam Consulting and Research, surveying 501 respondents aged 18 and above on September 22, 2026, with a maximum sampling error of ±4.4%.