New Poll in Israel Shows Eisenkot Ahead of Netanyahu Ahead of Elections

A recent poll by Israeli state television KAN shows former military chief Gadi Eisenkot leading the election race with 23 seats. Yashar Party leader Eisenkot sits ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose Likud Party trails with 20 seats.

Despite Likud's decline, the incumbent ruling bloc reaches 52 seats with the support of Ofer Winter's Amcha Yisrael Party. Meanwhile, the opposition bloc's projected seats dropped from 55 to 51.

A new party founded by Yoaz Hendel and Yaron Zelekha secured four seats by passing the electoral threshold. This new political movement significantly complicated coalition arithmetic in the 120-seat parliament.

Forming a government in Israel requires a minimum of 61 seats. The current ruling bloc needs to attract parties from the opposing side even if they persuade Hendel and Zelekha.

Arab parties are projected to win a total of 13 seats in parliament, with the Joint Arab List taking seven and Mansur Abbas's Raam party winning six. The opposition can reach the 61-seat threshold by drawing in Hendel, Zelekha, and Raam.