Eisenkot leads Netanyahu, but both blocs without clear path to 61-seat majority - poll

Nearly two weeks before the elections, polls by Maariv, Channel 13, and KAN News show an inconclusive race, with Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar party leading all three surveys, but neither bloc reaching the 61 seats needed for a Knesset majority.The polling average puts Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc, including Ofer Winter's People of Israel party, and the Zionist opposition at approximately 52 seats each.Differences between the polls and the standing of parties hovering around the electoral threshold could determine the battle to form the next government.Maariv poll: Likud gains strength, bringing coalition bloc level with oppositionA Maariv poll shows that Likud gained one seat this week, bringing the coalition bloc level with the Zionist opposition parties at 52 seats each.According to the poll, the opposition lost one seat after the Democrats fell by one seat. The other parties in the bloc remained unchanged.Within the coalition, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit lost one seat, while Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's Religious Zionist Party gained one.The Arab parties also maintained their strength, receiving a combined 12 seats this week.Channel 13 poll: Eisenkot weakens, Netanyahu gains strengthChannel 13's election poll also indicates a tie between Eisenkot's Yashar party and Netanyahu's Likud, with each receiving 20 seats.The results mean Eisenkot lost one seat, and Netanyahu gained one.In the breakdown by political blocs, Netanyahu's bloc receives 55 seats, while Eisenkot's bloc receives 50. The Arab parties, which are not affiliated with either bloc, receive a combined 15 seats.People of Israel, led by Winter, crossed the electoral threshold and received five seats.The parties failing to cross the threshold include the joint Reservists-Economic Party list led by Yoaz Hendel and Yaron Zelekha, with 2.9%; the Haredi Public party, with 1.1%; and Blue and White, led by Benny Gantz, with 0.8%.KAN News poll: Winter falls below electoral threshold, Bennett gains a seatA poll published by KAN 11 shows that, for the first time since Winter announced the establishment of People of Israel, his party fails to cross the electoral threshold.According to the poll, conducted by KAN News pollster Dudi Hasid and the Kantar Institute, Eisenkot's Yashar party remains the largest, with 23 seats.Likud, led by Netanyahu, receives 21 seats, while former prime minister Naftali Bennett's B'Yachad party gains one seat, rising to 12.After People of Israel fell below the electoral threshold, Eisenkot's bloc stands at 52 seats, compared with 51 for Netanyahu's bloc.The Arab parties won 13 seats combined, while the joint list led by Hendel and Zelekha won four.Channel 12 poll: Eisenkot leads Netanyahu as People of Israel remains below thresholdA Channel 12 poll places Eisenkot's Yashar party first with 23 seats, ahead of Netanyahu's Likud with 21.Meanwhile, the distribution among political blocs gives the opposition parties 54 seats, the coalition 49 and the Arab parties 13, while Hendel and Zelekha receive four seats.Below the electoral threshold are Ofer Winter's People of Israel (1.5%); the Haredi Public party, led by Moti Leitner (0.6%); Benny Gantz's Blue and White (0.5%); and Noam LeYisrael, led by Avi Maoz (0.2%).Ometz Beit Yisrael, led by Gadi Yarkoni and Moshe Green, and Israel First, led by Sharren Haskel, each receive 0%.The average is based on the seat distribution in four separate polls and does not constitute a new survey or a forecast of the election results.