Second poll shows Likud losing ground to Religious Zionism

18 October 2022, 8:58 pm

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MK Itamar Ben Gvir, head of the Otzma Yehudit political party visits in Kibbutz Ayelet HaShahar, northern Israel, October 6, 2022. (Michael Giladi/Flash90)

A second poll published today shows Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud losing ground to the far-right Religious Zionism.

The Channel 12 poll shows Likud with just 30 seats, having slipped from 35 seats in the channel’s polling in recent months.

Over the same period, Religious Zionism, a union between Bezalel Smotrich and the Kahanist Itamar Ben Gvir, has risen from 8 to 14 seats.

The poll also foresees 25 seats for Yesh Atid; National Unity on 12; Shas, 8; UTJ, 7; Yisrael Beytenu, 6; Labor, 5, Meretz, 5; Hadash-Ta’al, 4 and Ra’am on 4.

The poll predicts Ayelet Shaked’s Jewish Home and the Arab nationalist Balad will both fail to cross the election threshold.

The results see Netanayhu’s religious-right bloc on 59 seats, short of the 61 needed for a majority in the 120-seat Knesset. The current coalition is on 57, with Hadash Ta’al holding the additional seats.