Former prime minister Naftali Bennett and current opposition leader Yair Lapid’s Together Party experienced a sharp drop in support this week, reaching just 22 seats, a decline of 6 from its peak, according to a Ma’ariv poll published Friday.
Before the Bennett-Lapid merger, their separate lists held 31 seats combined, making the current decline even steeper – a loss of 9 mandates compared to their previous numbers. The poll also showed that Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar! Party list climbed by 2 mandates this week to a total of 17. Since the formation of Together, Eisenkot has gained a total of 5 seats.
Opposition loses one seat following Together Party decline
Following Together’s significant decline, the opposition bloc, not counting Arab parties, lost one seat this week, dropping to 58. Arab parties would hold a collective 10 seats, according to the latest poll.
In the coalition bloc, which gained one mandate to reach 52, Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud continued to decline, losing another seat this week and dropping to 23. This downward trend began after the launch of Operation Roaring Lion, when Likud held 27 mandates. However, due to Together’s weakening, Likud is once again the largest party.
Adding to coalition support this week is Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionist party, which stabilized above the electoral threshold with four seats for the second consecutive week. Both National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit and haredi party Shas each gained one seat, bringing them each to a respective nine seats.
When asked, “If elections for the Knesset were held today, who would you vote for?” Survey responses granted Likud 23 seats, Together 22 seats, Yashar! 17 seats; Democrats 10 seats; Otzma Yehudit, Yisrael Beiteinu, and Shas all had 9; United Torah Judaism got 7 seats; Hadash-Ta’al got 6; and Ra’am and the Religious Zionist Party both got 4 seats.
Reservists, Blue and White, Balad, fail to cross threshold
Yoaz Hendel’s Reservists Party, at 1.3%, Benny Gantz’s Blue and White, at 1.3%, and the Arab party Balad, at 2.2%, did not cross the electoral threshold.
The poll also revealed that the public is divided over the impact of Operation Roaring Lion on Israel’s national security in the face of the Iran threat. 35% of respondents said the situation worsened, 28% said it improved, and 29% believed it remained unchanged. An additional 8% were undecided.
The survey was conducted by Lazar Research, headed by Dr. Menachem Lazar, in cooperation with Panel4All, on May 27–28 among 500 respondents, representing a sample of Israel’s adult population aged 18 and over, including Jews and Arabs. The maximum margin of error was 4.4%.
Source:
www.jpost.com
