Gadi Eisenkot leads the race for the opposition leadership in the next election, overtaking Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid -the current head of the opposition-, with 27% of respondents selecting him, a new survey by Maariv revealed on Monday.
The survey also revealed that Bennett has support from 16% of respondents, while Mansour Abbas is in third place, with 10% selecting him.
Lapid only managed to get 6% of the support, which leaves him virtually out of the race for the coalition leadership, the same as Avigdor Liberman. Benny Gantz saw a small increase, with 8% of respondents selecting him, while Yair Golan received 7% of the votes.
Additionally, 19% of responders said that they would not select any of the candidates listed in the survey.
Opposition still leads in general polls, Netanyahu camp struggles to close gap
The opposition is leading in the general polls before the elections, with Likud and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu struggling to close the gap.
The poll, conducted about a week into the ceasefire with Iran and before the ceasefire with Lebanon was declared, found that recent developments in the regional fighting did not materially change the political map.
While there was no significant movement between the blocs, in the opposition, Eisenkot’s Yashar! party lost one seat to the Democrats.
Since the outbreak of the Iran war on February 28, Likud has fallen from 27 seats to 25, where it has now remained for three consecutive weeks. Bennett 2026, which began the war with 21 seats, has stabilized at 24 in the past two weeks.
Who is more fit to be Prime Minister?
The poll also pointed to a tight contest over public suitability for the role of prime minister. In a head-to-head matchup, 43% said Netanyahu is more suited to the role, while 41% chose former Bennett.
Against Eisenkot, Netanyahu held a wider lead. Forty-five percent said Netanyahu was more suitable for the premiership, compared with 38% who preferred Eisenkot.
Asked how they would vote if the next Knesset election were held with the current party lineup, respondents gave Likud 25 seats, unchanged; Bennett 2026 24, unchanged; Yashar! 12, down from 13; Shas and Yisrael Beytenu at 9 each, unchanged; the Democrats 9, up from 8; Otzma Yehudit 8, unchanged; Yesh Atid and United Torah Judaism each unchanged at 7; Hadash-Ta’al and Ra’am at 5, unchanged.