Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing bloc continue to gain with a new poll showing his Likud Party winning 28 Knesset seats if elections were held today.
The Channel 14 survey conducted by Direct Polls and released on Tuesday shows Netanyahu’s coalition garnering 59 Knesset seats, two more than in the previous Channel 14 poll released on Jan. 25.
The two main opposition parties held steady over the prior survey with the National Unity Party at 26 seats and Yesh Atid at 12. However, another opposition partner, the Israel Beiteinu Party, lost two seats from the previous poll.
Right-wing bloc:
Likud – 28
Shas – 9
Otzma Yehudit – 9
United Torah Judaism – 8
Religious Zionism – 5
Total: 59 mandates
Left-wing bloc:
National Unity – 26
Yesh Atid – 12
Israel Beitenu – 9
Meretz – 4
Total: 51 mandates
The Arab parties, which Channel 14 counts separately though other media outlets include within the opposition bloc, earn 10 seats.
Two parties didn’t get enough support to reach the 3.25% minimum threshold to enter the Knesset: Balad, an Arab party, and Labor, for decades the ruling party in Israel.
In a matchup between Netanyahu and National Unity’s Benny Gantz as to who is more suitable to be prime minister, those surveyed chose Netanyahu, 47% to 34%.
In a matchup between Netanyahu and Yesh Atid’s Yair Lapid, the gap widened at 49% to 28%.
