Channel 12 poll: Likud leads; Eisenkot surges, Gantz fails

A new opinion poll conducted by Israeli Channel 12 revealed an updated political map, showing that the Likud party led by Benjamin Netanyahu retained its position as the largest party with 24 seats.

The poll also showed the rise of a new party led by Gadi Eizenkot, which would win 12 seats, while former Blue and White leader Benny Gantz fell below the electoral threshold with only 2.8%.

This comes days after Gantz proposed a comprehensive, temporary deal for opposition parties to join Netanyahu’s government to address the issue of the abductees and compulsory military conscription.

Alongside Likud and Eizenkot’s party, the alliance of former prime minister Naftali Bennett, “Bennett 2026”, won 20 seats.

The Democrats, led by Yair Golan, received 11 seats, and Yisrael Beiteinu, led by Avigdor Lieberman, 10 seats.

Shas secured 8 seats, while both Yesh Atid, led by Yair Lapid, and United Torah Judaism won 7 seats each, as did Otzma Yehudit led by Itamar Ben Gvir.

The Religious Zionist party, led by Bezalel Smotrich, managed only four seats but cleared the electoral threshold.

In this scenario, the opposition would hold 60 seats, or 70 seats including the Hadash‑Ta’al alliance and the United Arab List (Ra’am) led by Mansour Abbas, compared with just 50 seats for coalition parties.

On the other hand, Bennett’s party fell to 19 seats. In a bloc breakdown, the opposition received 69 seats (including 10 seats for the Hadash‑Ta’al alliance and the Joint List), while the coalition obtained 46 seats; here too the Blue and White party under Gantz failed to cross the electoral threshold.

Among candidates for prime minister, Prime Minister Netanyahu tops the list with 42% support, while opposition leader Yair Lapid receives 22%, and a third of the public (33%) believes neither is suitable for the post.