Eisenkot leads Netanyahu as Israeli election blocs remain deadlocked: Poll

An Israeli opinion poll published on Thursday showed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition and the opposition tied at 53 seats each, with neither side securing the majority needed to form a government if elections were held today. The poll also showed Gadi Eisenkot maintaining his lead over Netanyahu as the preferred candidate for prime minister, with 47% of respondents favoring Eisenkot compared with 37% for Netanyahu. The survey was conducted by the Index research center among a random sample of 940 Israelis, with a margin of error of 4.3%, and its results were published by Israel's Channel 13. According to the results, Netanyahu's bloc and the opposition each secured 53 seats, leaving both below the 61-seat threshold required to form a government. Channel 13 described the results as reflecting a "dramatic tie in the bloc map," while Arab parties secured 14 of the Knesset's 120 seats. Unless the opposition receives support from Arab lawmakers, Israel could head toward another election, with the current government remaining in a caretaker capacity until a new government is formed, according to the channel. Change over 1 week The results mark a notable shift from Channel 13's previous poll a week earlier, which gave the opposition 57 seats compared with 48 for Netanyahu-aligned parties, while Arab parties had 15 seats. The change appears to have come with the far-right Your People Israel party, led by Ofer Winter, securing four seats, while the far-right Religious Zionism party, led by Bezalel Smotrich, won six. The Joint Arab List, comprising Hadash, the Arab Movement for Renewal and Balad, also secured nine seats, weakening the Israeli opposition bloc. At the same time, Netanyahu's Likud party narrowed the gap with the opposition Yashar party led by Eisenkot. Last week, Channel 13 projected Yashar would win 24 seats compared with 19 for Likud. In the new results, Yashar fell to 22 seats, while Likud rose to 21, leaving a one-seat gap between the two parties. Seat distribution In Netanyahu's bloc, Likud won 21 seats, the religious United Torah Judaism party eight, the religious Shas party seven and the Jewish Power party led by Itamar Ben-Gvir seven. Religious Zionism, led by Smotrich, won six seats, while the Your People Israel party led by Winter secured four. In the opposition bloc, Yashar, led by Eisenkot, won 22 seats, while the Together party, led by former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, secured 12. The Democrats, led by Yair Golan, won 11 seats, while Yisrael Beiteinu, led by Avigdor Lieberman, secured eight. Arab lawmakers' seats were divided between the Joint Arab List with nine seats and the United Arab List, led by Mansour Abbas, with five. Eisenkot maintains lead On the preferred candidate for prime minister, Eisenkot continued to lead Netanyahu. Some 47% of respondents said they preferred Eisenkot for prime minister, compared with 37% for Netanyahu. Israel's general elections are scheduled for Oct. 27 and are considered crucial to Netanyahu's political future as he faces corruption allegations and criticism over his leadership and handling of the war. The current government is described as the most right-wing in Israel's history and has been headed by Netanyahu, 76, since late December 2022. Netanyahu is wanted by the International Criminal Court over war crime charges in the Gaza Strip.