Poll: Eisenkot's Party Overtakes Likud; Shas Falls to Just Seven Seats

A Channel 13 poll released Wednesday night shows significant shifts in Israel's political landscape. Gadi Eisenkot's "Yashar!" Party would emerge as the largest faction with 23 Knesset seats, narrowly ahead of Likud's 22 seats, if elections were held today.

Other parties polled as follows: Naftali Bennett's party would hold 13 seats; Yisrael Beiteinu and the Democrats would each reach 11 seats; Otzma Yehudit would secure 9 seats; United Torah Judaism would receive 8; and Shas would remain at 7 seats for the second consecutive week. Hadash-Ta'al is projected to win 6 seats, while the Religious Zionist Party and Ra'am would each receive 5. Parties led by Chili Tropper and Yoaz Hendel, Balad, and Benny Gantz's Blue and White fall below the electoral threshold.

The opposition would command 58 seats under this scenario, while Netanyahu's coalition would hold 51 seats, with Arab parties accounting for 11 seats.

In a head-to-head matchup on prime ministerial suitability, Eisenkot led with 46% compared to 36% for Netanyahu.

The poll explored merger scenarios. A joint Hadash-Ta'al and Balad list would receive 8 seats. If Yoav Segalovitz were to join Ra'am, that party would increase to 7 seats. Parties led by Tropper and Hendel, Gilad Erdan and Yuli Edelstein, and Gantz and Alon Schuster would remain below the threshold even under these arrangements.

Respondents were asked about Ra'am's potential entry into a future coalition if it severed ties with the Islamic Movement and was joined by Segalovitz. Overall, 45% opposed this, 29% supported it under those conditions, and 26% were undecided. Among current coalition supporters, 79% rejected the proposal, compared to 6% in favor. Within Israel's Arab sector, 65% supported the move, while 23% opposed it. Among opposition supporters, 37% supported bringing Ra'am into a future coalition under those conditions, 32% opposed it, and 31% remained undecided.