Gap between Netanyahu, Gantz continues to close, according to new poll

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling Likud party is continuing its trend of recovery after it dropped sharply following Hamas’s October 7 attacks and the ensuing war in Gaza, according to a new poll.

If elections were held today, Likud would get 21 seats — up from 16 earlier in the war but still far from the 32 seats it currently holds — the Maariv poll finds.

The survey, conducted by Panel4All with 500 respondents, was carried out between April 17 and 18, before reports of an alleged Israeli strike on Iran in response to the weekend’s missile and drone attack.

The gap between Netanyahu and his main opponent, National Unity chair Benny Gantz, is also closing, according to the survey, with the latter leading by a margin of just five percent.

In terms of blocs, the Maariv poll gives a narrow lead to the opposition with 65 seats, while Netanyahu and his hardline, right-wing allies get 50 seats.

The survey gives Gantz’s National Unity party 31 seats, opposition leader Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid 13 seats and Avigdor Liberman’s Israel Beytenu 12 seats.