A recent Channel 12 News survey reveals that Gadi Eisenkot, the former Israel Defense Forces chief of staff, has moved ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in public opinion regarding who should lead the country.
The polling data shows Eisenkot’s Yashar! party making significant progress, while the former military leader has now become the top choice among respondents for prime minister. In head-to-head comparisons with Netanyahu, Eisenkot garnered 38% of support versus the current prime minister’s 35%.
When matched against other political figures, Netanyahu maintained leads over Bennett with 38% to 31% and over Avigdor Liberman with 36% to 24%.
Within opposition circles, Eisenkot outperformed Bennett with 46% preference compared to 39%. An additional eight percent indicated they favored a different candidate, while seven percent remained undecided.
If voting occurred immediately, the poll indicates Likud would continue as the nation’s dominant party, securing 23 Knesset seats with no change from prior polling. Naftali Bennett’s Together party dropped one seat to 21.
Eisenkot’s Yashar! party gained two seats and would claim 19 mandates based on the survey results. The Democrats under Yair Golan’s leadership maintained 10 seats. Both Shas and Yisrael Beiteinu earned nine seats each, with Otzma Yehudit taking eight and United Torah Judaism securing seven.
Within Arab political representation, both Hadash-Ta’al and Ra’am would obtain five seats each. Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionism party stayed above the minimum threshold with four seats.
Several parties failed to meet the electoral threshold, including Benny Gantz’s Blue and White party, Yoaz Hendel’s Reservists party, and Sami Abu Shehadeh’s Balad party.
The survey demonstrated that political bloc distribution remained static from the previous poll. Opposition parties, including Arab representation, would command 69 seats, while coalition parties would possess 51.
Public opinion regarding the potential appointment of Michael Rabello, Prime Minister Netanyahu’s attorney, as state comptroller showed 45% opposition compared to 18% support.
Concerning election security, 57% of respondents expressed general worry about election integrity, while 35% indicated they were not particularly concerned.
Among opposition supporters, 53% favored a combined electoral list featuring Bennett and Eisenkot, while 33% rejected this concept and 14% remained uncertain.
