Poll: Rightwing Bloc Up to Record-High 70 Seats

Would new elections be held today – a possibility growing with each passing day without a budget – the right-wing religious bloc would soar to 70 seats, a new poll published Friday by Maariv showed.

The Likud party climbed back to 30 seats after lingering in the upper 20s for a while, while Naftali Bennett’s Yamina party maintained its surging momentum with 23 seats in the poll.

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid faction remained the third largest party, according to the poll, with 17 seats.

The Joint List of Arab parties followed next, with 11 seats – four short of their current 15 in the Knesset.

Benny Gantz’s Blue and White party continued to fall, polling at nine seats only, versus 15 now in the Knesset.

The Shas party also received nine seats, followed by United Torah Judaism with eight seats, up from their current seven. Yisrael Beyteinu also received eight.

The Meretz party finished last with five seats.

The results position Israel’s right bloc at a historic high of 70 seats, as the left-center bloc tumbles to 42, and eight seats for Yisrael Beyteinu.