Channel 13 survey: Yamina, Ra’am hold balance between pro-, anti-Netanyahu blocs

A Channel 13 survey, 36 days before the March 23 elections, offers no conclusive picture of a likely next coalition.

It forecasts the parties as follows: Likud 28 seats; Yesh Atid 17; New Hope 13; Yamina 11; the Joint List (of Arab-dominated parties) 8; Shas 7; United Torah Judaism 7; Labor 6; Meretz 5; Religious Zionism 5; Yisrael Beytenu 5; Blue and White 4, and Ra’am 4.

The poll shows Likud down a little since the last survey by the channel last week, Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beytenu slipping, and Mansour Abbas’s Ra’am clearing the Knesset threshold, with Benny Gantz’s Blue and White also just above the threshold.

In terms of blocs, Netanyahu, Religious Zionism and the two ultra-Orthodox parties have 47 seats; the anti-Netanyahu bloc has 58; with Naftali Bennett’s Yamina and Ra’am as the potential kingmakers.

Asked their preferred prime minister, respondents chose Likud PM Benjamin Netanyahu (34%), ahead of New Hope’s Gideon Sa’ar (18%), Yesh Atid’s Yair Lapid (17%) and Bennett (10%).

The survey was taken today, among 703 respondents, with a 3.7% margin of error.