Israel poll: Eisenkot leads Netanyahu by four seats

A recent opinion poll in Israel showed that the Yashar party, led by Gadi Eisenkot, was four seats ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party.

The Operative Information Center-OMM reports that, according to the results of a poll conducted by the Midgam Institute for Channel 12, Yashar gained one seat compared with the previous survey and became the largest political force with 25 lawmakers.

Likud came second with 21 lawmakers after losing two seats.

According to the poll, the Together list led by former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett won 13 seats.

Projections indicate that the governing bloc led by Netanyahu could hold 52 seats, while Eisenkot’s bloc could secure 55.

The Arab Joint List, led by Yusuf Jabari, was projected to win seven seats, while Mansour Abbas’ Ra’am party was expected to secure four. This would bring the total number of seats held by Arab parties to 11.

Regarding the preferred choice for prime minister, 42 percent of respondents said they supported Gadi Eisenkot, while 35 percent backed Benjamin Netanyahu.

Under Israel’s electoral system, forming a government requires the support of at least 61 lawmakers in the 120-seat parliament. The poll results suggest that complex coalition negotiations could follow an election in order to form a government.

Israel uses a nationwide proportional representation system, in which parliamentary seats are allocated according to parties’ shares of the vote. As a result, the party winning the most seats does not necessarily form the government without securing support from coalition partners.