Eisenkot gives National Unity two seats – poll

Following the split between MK Itamar Ben Gvir and MK Bezalel Smotrich, Otzma Yehudit won seven seats versus Religious Zionism’s five, the poll found.

By ELIAV BREUER, JPOST   18.8.22

Illustration from a polling station in Jerusalem, as Israelis vote in their general elections, on March 23, 2021

The addition of former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot gives the National Unity Party two more mandates and bumps up its total to 12 seats, according to a new poll conducted by Menachem Lazar, head of Panel Politics.

Following the split between Religious Zionist Party leader Bezalel Smotrich and MK Itamar Ben-Gvir, head of the party’s Otzma Yehudit faction, Otzma Yehudit would receive seven seats, and the Religious Zionist Party would get five, the poll found.

Meretz passes the electoral threshold and wins four seats, while Zionist Spirit, led by Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked, falls beneath the threshold and wins none, according to the poll.

The full results were Likud 32, Yesh Atid 25, National Unity 12, Shas eight, Otzma Yehudit seven, United Torah Judaism seven, Joint List six, Religious Zionism, Labor and Yisrael Beytenu five each and Meretz and Ra’am (United Arab List) four each. Zionist Spirit received 2.6% of the vote, well under the threshold of 3.25%.

The Netanyahu bloc thus has 59 seats, the Lapid bloc has 55 seats, and the remaining six seats belong to the Joint List. Lapid Bloc includes Raam’s 4 seats.

Zionist Spirit’s decline indicated that some of its expected voters switched to National Unity after Eisenkot joined it.

The Likud and Shas both lost one seat each, compared with last week’s poll, as Otzma Yehudit took a mandate away from each, the poll found.