With Israel’s election 64 days away, a new Channel 14 poll shows Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the right-wing bloc holding a commanding advantage, with Netanyahu’s allies projected to win an outright 63-seat Knesset majority without relying on any Arab parties.
The survey, conducted Monday, August 24, gives the right-wing bloc 63 seats, compared to 47 for the left-wing bloc. The Arab parties would receive a combined 10 seats.
Netanyahu’s Likud remains by far the largest party in the poll, winning 32 seats. Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party finishes a distant second with 24 seats.
Shas emerges as the third-largest party with 10 seats, followed by the Democrats with nine.
Otzma Yehudit and United Torah Judaism each receive eight seats, while Yisrael Beiteinu and the Beyachad party each win seven.
Religious Zionism crosses the electoral threshold and receives five seats, an important result for the right-wing bloc given concerns in other recent polls that the party could fall below the threshold. Ra’am and the joint Hadash-Ta’al-Balad slate each receive five seats as well.
Several parties fail to cross the electoral threshold in the Channel 14 survey.
Ofer Winter’s party receives 2.1% of the vote, while Zehut receives 1.7%. Bayit Tzioni/Reservists receives 1.4%, Blue and White gets 1%, and the Unity Party receives just 0.2%.
The results therefore present a notably different scenario from some other recent polls, with Religious Zionism safely entering the Knesset while Winter’s party remains outside.
Netanyahu also holds a substantial advantage when respondents were asked who is best suited to serve as prime minister.
Fifty-two percent chose Netanyahu as their preferred candidate for prime minister, compared to 36% who selected Eisenkot. Naftali Bennett received 7%, while Avigdor Lieberman received 5%.
Netanyahu’s advantage grows even larger when respondents are given a direct choice between him and Eisenkot. In that matchup, Netanyahu receives 56% support, compared to 44% for Eisenkot.
The poll was conducted by NEXT DATA on August 24 among 486 Israeli adults representing the general population.
{Matzav.com}
