Polls: Yamina Surges, Right-Wing Bloc Holds Majority

Two polls released on Sunday night showed the right-wing Yamina party maintaining spectacular gains over the last election results, while the right-religious bloc in general held on to a majority in the Knesset.

According to Midgam, published by Channel 12, Yamina, led by Naftali Bennet, would win 16 seats, compared to its current 5. By comparison, a second poll, conducted by Camil Fuchs for Channel 13, found that if elections were held now, Yamina would get 19.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu‏‏’s Likud party would slip to 30 seats, according to Midgam, but would receive 33 according to Fuchs. The party currently has 36 in the Knesset.

Blue and White would fall from its current 15 to 12, according to the first poll, down to 10 in the second.

Both polls said that the right-religious bloc led by Likud would have a majority, enabling it to form a government without help from either Benny Gantz’s Blue and White or Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beytenu. The bloc would have 63 seats versus 49 for the left in the first poll; 65-48 in the second.

Yesh Atid-Telem would get 16 in the first poll, 20 in the second; Shas 7/7 UTJ 8/6; Joint Arab List 12/15; Meretz 6/6; Yisrael Beytenu 8/7.

Labor, Gesher, Derech Eretz, Otzma Yehudit, and the Jewish Home would all fail to clear the 3.25% electoral threshold if new elections were held today, both polls said.