Skip to main content

Israel Elections 2026

Eisenkot Leads as Bennett Weakens in Poll

Eisenkot's Yashar party holds steady at 23 seats while Likud drops to 21; Bennett's Yachad plummets to 12 as opposition bloc nears majority with smaller parties

Erdan and Edelstein

A new poll published Wednesday evening on Channel 13's HaMadad survey reveals a complex picture of Israel's political landscape ahead of the 2026 elections. Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar party maintains its lead with 23 Knesset seats, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud has weakened, dropping one seat to 21 mandates.

Naftali Bennett's Yachad party continues its downward slide, crashing to just 12 seats—a significant decline from previous surveys. Yair Golan's Democrats party remains stable at 11 seats, as does Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu with 10 mandates.

Among the ultra-Orthodox parties, Shas under Aryeh Deri stands at 7 seats—a figure that has remained consistent in recent polls and represents a drop of four seats from its current Knesset strength. United Torah Judaism continues to poll steadily at 8 seats.

Itamar Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit receives 8 mandates, while Bezalel Smotrich's Religious Zionism holds 5 seats. In the Arab sector, Hadash-Ta'al and Ra'am together receive a combined 11 mandates.

The bloc breakdown shows Eisenkot's opposition camp at 56 seats. However, if the Habayit Hazioni party led by Chili Tropper and Yoaz Hendel—which crosses the electoral threshold this time with 4 seats—joins the opposition, the bloc would reach 60 mandates, bringing it significantly closer to forming a government.

Netanyahu's coalition bloc stands at only 49 seats. The Arab parties sit in the middle with 11 mandates. Falling below the threshold are parties led by Gilad Ardan and Yuli Edelstein, as well as Balad and Benny Gantz's Blue and White.

On suitability for the premiership, the gap between candidates has widened: Eisenkot strengthens to 47% of the public viewing him as fit for the role, while Netanyahu weakens to just 34%—a 13-percentage-point gap in Eisenkot's favor.

Ready for more?

Join our newsletter to receive updates on new articles and exclusive content.

We respect your privacy and will never share your information.

Enjoyed this article?

Yes (37)
No (1)
Follow Us:

Unmissable content


Loading comments...

Also of Interest