Israeli poll: Smotrich’s party falls below threshold as Eisenkot overtakes Netanyahu

A new opinion poll published by Israel’s Channel 12 on Monday evening showed major shifts in the political landscape ahead of a possible election, with Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party remaining in first place with 24 Knesset seats, compared with 23 for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud. 

Naftali Bennett’s B’Yachad party came third with 15 seats, followed by Yair Golan’s Democrats with 11 and Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beytenu with nine.

The poll also showed United Torah Judaism, led by Moshe Gafni, winning eight seats, the Otzma Yehudit party led by Itamar Ben-Gvir eight, the Joint List led by Yousef Jabareen seven, and Shas seven.

READ: Smotrich calls for removal of 40 Palestinian memorials in West Bank within 24 hours

The new People of Israel party, led by former Israeli military officer Ofer Winter, made a notable breakthrough, winning four seats. The United Arab List, led by Mansour Abbas, also won four seats.

By contrast, the Religious Zionism Party, led by Bezalel Smotrich, failed to cross the electoral threshold after receiving 2.6 per cent of the vote. The same percentage was recorded by the Zionist Home for Reservists Party, led by Chili Tropper and Yoaz Hendel.

The poll also showed Eisenkot ahead of Netanyahu when voters were asked who was more suitable to serve as prime minister. 

READ: Netanyahu urges Smotrich and Ben-Gvir to unite ahead of elections