POLL: Eisenkot's Yashar Leads With 23 Seats As Likud Falls To 21

A Maariv poll released Friday found Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar party holding its position as Israel's largest with 23 seats, while Likud declined by one seat to 21 and Naftali Bennett's Beyachad fell by one to 14. The Netanyahu bloc totaled 48 seats, down from 49 previously. The Zionist opposition maintained 57 seats, with Bayit Tzioni, led by Chili Tropper and Yoaz Hendel, at four seats. Arab parties combined rose to 11 seats.

In a direct matchup on prime ministerial suitability, Eisenkot widened his lead over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to double digits. Forty-nine percent of respondents deemed Eisenkot more suitable compared with 38% for Netanyahu, with 13% undecided. In the prior poll, Eisenkot stood at 47% while Netanyahu remained at 38%.

The poll examined an alternative scenario in which Hadash, Ta'al and Balad formed a unified list with Yoav Segalovich placed second on the Ra'am slate. Under this arrangement, the joint Arab list would receive eight seats and Ra'am six, totaling 14 seats for Arab parties. Yashar would fall to 22 seats, Likud to 20 and Beyachad to 13, with the Netanyahu bloc at 47 seats and the Zionist opposition at 55.

Respondents were also asked how Israel should respond if the United States reached an agreement with Iran but Israel identified an immediate military threat from Tehran. Sixty-five percent said Israel should strike independently without U.S. Approval, 20% said it should act only with American agreement or cooperation, and 16% were undecided. Support for unilateral action reached 84% among coalition voters, 78% among third-bloc voters, and 56% among Zionist opposition voters, while 30% of opposition voters favored acting only with U.S. Approval or cooperation.