Poll finds ‘change bloc’ united with Hendel-Tropper party would hit 60 seats

A poll aired this evening on Channel 13 news predicts that the “change” bloc of parties opposed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could reach 60 Knesset seats if they join with the right-wing Zionist Home party led by Yoaz Hendel and Chili Tropper.

The survey of 1,240 participants — with a margin of error of ±3.9% — finds that Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party would be the largest with 23 seats, followed by Likud with 21, Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett’s B’Yachad with 12, The Democrats with 11 and Yisrael Beytenu with 10.

The poll shows Otzma Yehudit receiving eight seats, as would United Torah Judaism, Shas getting seven, Hadash-Ta’al with six seats, Religious Zionism and Ra’am both five and Zionist Home four seats.

The newly formed Gilad Erdan-Yuli Edelstein party would not cross the electoral threshold, and neither would Balad or Benny Gantz’s Blue and White party, the poll shows.

That would mean that a coalition of Yashar, B’Yachad, The Democrats, Yisrael Beytenu and Zionist Home would garner 60 seats, exactly half of the Knesset’s 120.

Hendel and Tropper have been sharply critical of Netanyahu, but have not explicitly ruled out sitting with him in a future coalition.