Netanyahu bloc rises to 59 seats in latest poll, while Bennett coalition falls to 55 seats, with New Hope left out of next Knesset.
Netanyahu?????: Yonatan Sindel/Flash90
Support for the Likud continues to rise, according to a new poll released Tuesday, with the party projected to win 36 seats if new elections were held today.
The poll, conducted by Rafi Smith’s Smith Research agency, was published by Galey Israel radio Tuesday morning.
According to the poll, if new elections were held today, the Likud would remain the largest faction in the Knesset, rising from the 30 seats it won in 2021 to 36 seats. That represents a two-seat increase over the previous Smith poll, conducted last December.
Yesh Atid fell by one seat since the previous poll, down to 20 seats from 21 – though the party is still projected to gain seats compared to its showing in the 2021 election.
Among the haredi factions, Shas fell in the poll by one seat to eight mandates, while United Torah Judaism held steady at seven seats.
The center-left Blue and White party received seven seats in the poll, down from its current eight, while Labor held steady at seven seats, and the far-left Meretz faction received five – down from its current six.
The Joint Arab List party, a member of the Opposition, received six seats in the poll, while the United Arab List, a coalition member, received five seats.
The Religious Zionist Party rose to eight seats in the poll, up from six currently and seven in the last poll, while Yamina received just five seats, down from seven it won last year.
Yisrael Beytenu tumbled from seven seats to six in the new poll, and the New Hope faction again failed to cross the electoral threshold.
Broken down by bloc, the pro-Netanyahu factions received a total of 59 seats, up from 52 in the previous election and 57 in last December’s poll, while the left-wing – Arab bloc fell from 51 seats in the previous poll to 50. The center-right parties aligned with the coalition fell to 11 seats.
The parties currently aligned with the Bennett coalition received just 55 seats, compared to 62 in the 2021 election (including Amichai Chikli, a rogue Yamina MK who is currently forming a new party).
How many of these seats are gained from the center-left or from previously uncommitted voters and how many are just from reshuffling on the right? I can’t follow the math. Do independent voters have clout in Israel as they do in America?