Latest poll shows Israel's right-wing, opposition blocs neck-and-neck

A new poll shows Israel’s right-wing and opposition blocs are neck-and-neck a month before elections.

According to Arutz Sheva, the poll conducted by the Maagar Mohot Institute for Israel Hayom and i24NEWS found that the Blue and White list headed by former army chief Benny Gantz would emerge on top with 33 seats.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, meanwhile, is set to secure 26 Knesset seats. The report notes that the Blue and White list’s 33 seats is down five compared with the previous poll published a week ago.

According to the report, there is no change in the so-called blocs, with right-wing and Haredi parties collecting 62 seats combined, and opposition parties winning 58.

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The latest polling data also suggests a weakening of the large parties within the blocs; amongst the right-wing, United Torah Judaism, the New Right, and the Union of Right-Wing Parties all poll eight seats each, with Shas on four seats.

Within the opposition bloc, the Labor Party has recovered to eight seats, the same number as Meretz. The Ta’al-Hadash list is also on eight seats.

The poll also examined the effect of the publication of the suspicions against Netanyahu on the way citizens will vote. An overwhelming majority of those surveyed – 86 per cent – said that the publication of the allegations did not change their vote, while only 14 per cent said it did.

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