Naftali Bennett’s emerging party overtook Likud in the latest election poll published by Channel 13 on Tuesday, marking a shift in the political landscape.
According to the survey, the “Bennett 2026” party would receive 23 seats, while Likud, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, would win 22.
Just four days earlier, a Friday Maariv poll showed Likud leading with 23 seats, followed by Bennett 2026 with 22 seats.
The Blue and White party, led by Benny Gantz, would win four seats in the Channel 13 poll; however, the party failed to cross the electoral threshold in the Maariv survey, polling at 1.8%, lower than Balad.
Channel 13 survey results
In the Channel 13 survey, Yisrael Beytenu, headed by Avigdor Liberman, and Shas, led by Arye Deri, were tied with 10 seats each.
Otzma Yehudit, led by Itamar Ben-Gvir, and The Democrats, headed by Yair Golan, each secured nine seats. Yesh Atid, under Yair Lapid, garnered eight, while United Torah Judaism, led by Yitzhak Goldknopf, received seven. Ra’am, headed by Mansour Abbas, and Hadash-Ta’al each earned five seats.
Gadi Eisenkot, an independent candidate, was allocated four seats, the same number as both Blue and White, led by Benny Gantz, and Religious Zionism, led by Bezalel Smotrich. Balad, under Sami Abu Shehadeh, did not pass the electoral threshold, receiving only three percent support.
Ma’ariv poll results
In contrast, the earlier Maariv poll had Likud leading with 23 seats and “Bennett 2026” trailing with 22. Yisrael Beytenu received 11 seats, while The Democrats were allocated nine. Gadi Eisenkot’s new party also stood at nine, followed by Shas and Yesh Atid with eight seats each.
Otzma Yehudit also polled at eight. United Torah Judaism was assigned seven, Ra’am six, and Hadash-Ta’al five. Religious Zionism received four. Balad, with 2.5 percent support, did not pass the threshold, nor did Blue and White, which polled at 1.8 percent.
Political blocs
According to the Channel 13 poll, the opposition bloc would hold 58 seats, while the current coalition would receive 52. The Arab parties together secured 10 seats in the poll. According to the Maariv survey, the opposition bloc, aligned with Bennett and Eisenkot, would secure 59 seats, the coalition 50, and the Arab parties 11.
Notable developments
The comparison between the two polls highlights several key shifts. Shas rose from eight to 10 seats, while Otzma Yehudit increased slightly from eight to nine.
On the center-left, Gadi Eisenkot’s support dropped significantly, from nine seats in the Maariv poll to just four in the Channel 13 survey.
The Democrats maintained their position with nine seats in both polls.
A particularly notable change was seen with Blue and White, led by Benny Gantz, which climbed from below the electoral threshold in the earlier poll to a projected four seats in the latest survey.
The Mind Database Institute conducted the Channel 13 poll in collaboration with Statnet. The poll holds a 4.1% sampling error, with a total of 558 individuals surveyed.