Israeli Election Polls: Eisenkot's Yashar Party Leads Race

Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar party continues its upward momentum in Israeli election polling, reaching 26 seats according to a new survey published Wednesday evening by Channel 13's "HaMadad" poll. The result represents a gain of three seats compared to the previous survey. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party also showed growth, adding two seats to reach 23 mandates.

The figures indicate a strengthening trend for both leading parties, though Eisenkot maintains a significant lead over Likud. The poll was released against the backdrop of this week's Likud primaries, in which party members selected the slate of Knesset candidates who will appear on the party's electoral list.

Naftali Bennett's Yemina (Together) party continues its recovery, gaining one seat from last week's polling to reach 13 mandates, following a period of consistent decline in surveys. Yair Golan's Democrats party remains stable at 11 seats, while Avigdor Liberman's Yisrael Beiteinu drops one seat to nine mandates.

Among the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) parties, United Torah Judaism maintains its polling stability at eight seats. Shas, led by Aryeh Deri, remains unchanged from the previous survey with seven seats.

Benjamin Netanyahu (צילום: Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Itamar Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party receives eight seats in the poll, while Bezalel Smotrich's Religious Zionism party garners five mandates. In the Arab sector, Mansour Abbas's Ra'am and the Hadash-Ta'al alliance each receive five seats.

Several parties fail to cross the electoral threshold according to the survey: Chili Tropper and Yoaz Hendel's National Unity-Reservists party, Gilad Erdan's Unity party, Balad, and Benny Gantz's Blue and White.

In terms of bloc alignment, Netanyahu's potential coalition reaches only 51 seats, well short of the 61 required to form a government. The anti-Netanyahu bloc totals 59 mandates, while Arab parties hold 10 seats.