Polls show Netanyahu maintaining lead over upstart Bennett

A pair of polls show Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party remaining the largest party in the Knesset, with one showing him pulling away from right-wing insurgent Naftali Bennett.

A poll by the Kan broadcaster gives Likud 31 seats and Bennett’s Yamina 21, followed by Yesh Atid with 17, the Joint List with 11 seats, and Blue and White with nine seats. Also with nine seats are Shas and Yisrael Beytenu, while UTJ snags seven and Meretz six.

A separate poll from Channel 13 shows a closer contest, with Netanyahu maintaining a 27-23 seat advantage over Bennett. The poll gives Yesh Atid 20 seats, the Joint List 11, and Blue and White 10. The poll gives Yisrael Beytenu eight seats, Shas and UTJ seven and Meretz six.

The Labor party fails to clear the threshold to enter the Knesset in both polls.

The Channel 13 numbers show that Bennett could potentially form a narrow right-center coalition with Yesh Atid, Blue and White and Yisrael Beytenu. In that instance, Bennett would likely be prime minister.

Polls in past weeks have shows Bennett gaining on Netanyahu, who has seen his party fall to as low as 23 seats.

Speculation of early elections has ramped up in recent days as the government has teetered amid a budget impasse. If the budget issue is not resolved by late December, early elections are likely to be called, the fourth in two years.