Likud sees poll bump to 34 seats after Tuesday primaries

One of the first polls taken after Likud’s Tuesday primary suggests the final party  slate for Knesset is being well received by the party’s potential electorate.

The poll published Thursday by the Walla news site shows the ruling party winning 34 seats, four more than its current showing and five more than the same poll a week earlier, before the primaries.

As Walla political analyst Tal Shalev notes, that might not be good news for Likud’s leader, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who needs a Knesset majority after the election to remain premier. Likud’s rise, the poll finds, comes at the expense of two potential coalition allies, Yisrael Beytenu and Gesher, both of which fall under the 3.25-percent threshold for getting into the Knesset, losing the right to as many as half a dozen seats in the 21st Knesset.