Netanyahu-led bloc regains lead in TV poll, but remains well short of Knesset majority

A weekly television poll published by Channel 13 news shows Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc regaining the lead over his rivals before the elections next month, though still well short of a Knesset majority.

The survey still showed former IDF chief Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party as the largest with 21 seats, down one from last week, followed by Netanyahu’s Likud with 19, B’Yachad with 11, Democrats with 11, Yisrael Beytenu with nine, Joint List with nine, Otzma Yehudit with eight, United Torah Judaism with eight, Shas with seven, Religious Zionism-Zehut with seven, Ra’am with five and People of Israel with five.

Unlike the network’s poll from last week, the party co-led by Yoaz Hendel and Yaron Zelekha — which has not committed to either bloc — failed to clear the minimum threshold to enter the Knesset.

Together, parties that support Netanyahu as prime minister would have 54 seats if the elections were held today, versus 52 for the opposition Zionist bloc and 14 for Arab-majority factions aligned with neither of the sides. Sixty-one seats are needed for a majority in the Knesset.

The survey has 1,013 respondents and a 2.5% margin of error.