“Israeli” Poll: Dramatic Shake-up in Right-Wing

By Staff, Agencies

A seat projection poll published by “Israel’s” Channel 12 paints a political picture in which Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot leads Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when respondents are asked who is best suited to serve as prime minister. His party also ranks first in the seat projection, with 24 seats.

According to the poll, Eisenkot’s Yashar party receives 24 seats, Netanyahu’s Likud 22, Naftali Bennett’s Beyachad party 15, and Yair Golan’s Democrats 11.

In the remainder of the projection, Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu and Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit receive nine seats each, United Torah Judaism receives eight, the Joint List seven, Shas seven, Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionism four, and Mansour Abbas’s United Arab List four.

According to the poll, three parties fail to cross the electoral threshold: Benny Gantz’s Blue and White, the Unity party led by Gilad Erdan and Yuli Edelstein, and the party led by Chili Tropper and Yoaz Hendel.

Based on the results, the bloc map gives the coalition 50 seats, the opposition 59, and the Arab parties 11.

The poll also examined a scenario in which Brigadier General [res.] Ofer Winter, who is expected to announce the establishment of a new party today, runs in the election. Under this scenario, Likud loses one seat, Bennett’s Beyachad gains one, while Smotrich’s Religious Zionism falls below the electoral threshold, mirroring the seat projection published by Kan News the evening before last.

In this case, the bloc map changes, with the coalition falling to 49 seats and the opposition rising to 60, while the Arab parties remain at 11 seats.

Eisenkot also holds an advantage over Netanyahu in the question of who is best suited to serve as prime minister. In a head-to-head scenario between the two, 44% of respondents said Eisenkot was the more suitable candidate, compared with 34% who chose Netanyahu.

In a head-to-head matchup against Naftali Bennett, Netanyahu receives 37% on the question of suitability for prime minister, compared with 39% for Bennett. Against Avigdor Lieberman, Netanyahu receives 35%, compared with 28% for Lieberman. In the remaining scenarios, respondents answered either “don’t know” or “none.”