Poll: Likud Grows Stronger as New Hope Falters; Still No Outright Coalition

The Likud is growing stronger in the polls and is steady above 30 seats, Channel 13 News reported Sunday.

According to the Channel 13 poll, were elections held at this time, the Likud would win 32 Knesset seats, followed by Yesh Atid (18), New Hope (14), Yamina (10), the Joint Arab List (10), United Torah Judaism (7), Shas (6), Yisrael Beytenu (6), Meretz (5), Blue and White (4), the Israelis (4), and Labor (4).

The poll projected that the Economic, Religious Zionist, Telem, Tnufa, Gesher, Habayit Hayehudi, and Pensioners parties will not cross the electoral threshold, nor will the Otzma Yehudit party.

The results give the right-wing bloc 45 seats and the center-left bloc 65 seats – enough to unseat Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

The poll also looked into the effect potential mergers would have on the results.

A scenario where Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid merges with Israelis party leader Ron Huldai would see the right-wing bloc secure only 46 seats while the center-left bloc would win 63, and Yamina would win 11 seats.

A scenario in which Hatnuah leader Tzipi Livni announces a political comeback and joins forces with Yesh Atid on the one hand, while Huldai joins forces with Telem, Tnufa and Labor, would see Likud win 31 seats and Yesh Atid-Hatnuah with 22 seats.

New Hope would win 14 mandates, followed by the Israelis-Tnufa-Telem-Labor alliance (9), Yamina (9), the Joint Arab List (9), United Torah Judaism (7), Shas (6), Yisrael Beytenu (5), Meretz (4) and Blue and White (4).

Here, too, the Economic, Religious Zionist, Gesher, Habayit Hayehudi, Pensioners, and Otzma Yehudit parties fail to cross the electoral threshold.