A new poll in Israel shows that Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot receives 48% of the preferences in a direct confrontation for the post of prime minister, compared to 40% for current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The poll was published by the Israeli daily Maariv and conducted by Lazar Research and Panel4All on September 16 and 17, with 4,089 respondents. The maximum margin of error is 4 percentage points.
According to the same poll, if parliamentary elections were held now, Netanyahu's ruling coalition parties would win 50 seats in the Knesset, while opposition parties would secure 54 seats. Arab parties are projected to win 12 seats, while a list not belonging to the two main blocs would secure 4 seats.
This means that, according to this projection, neither Netanyahu's coalition nor the opposition bloc would achieve the 61 mandates needed to form a government in the 120-seat parliament on their own.
In other head-to-head matches, the poll shows former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett getting 44% to Netanyahu's 41%, while Netanyahu is ahead of Avigdor Lieberman with 42% to 38%.
In the race for parliamentary seats, Eisenkot's Yashar is projected to be the largest party with 23 seats, while Netanyahu's Likud is projected to take 18 seats. Bennett's party is ranked with 13 seats.
In total, 38 lists have registered to compete in the upcoming parliamentary elections, while the poll predicts that 13 of them would cross the electoral threshold and enter the Knesset. The general elections are scheduled for October 27, 2026.
The results of this poll come in an electoral landscape that remains fragmented. Another poll published on September 17 by Channel 13 put Eisenkot at 45% to Netanyahu's 36% in preference for prime minister, showing that results vary depending on the institute and methodology used.
Netanyahu has led the current government since late December 2022. He is facing criminal trials in Israel on corruption charges, while the International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for him in connection with charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
