2 Weeks Before Election, Most Israelis Don’t Expect Conclusive Outcome

When Israelis go to the polls again on March 23, most will be doing so with a feeling of resignation about the prospects of a conclusive outcome.

According to a poll released by the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI) on Tuesday, just 29% of Israelis think the election will resolve the political stalemate that has hung over the country for two years.

However, among supporters of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, 52% said they thought this election might bring in a solid ruling majority.

Left-voting respondents appeared to be the least confident of any party attaining a clear victory, at just 15%. Meanwhile, 23% of centrist voters and 36% of right-wing voters said they believe the vote will be decisive.

The pollsters also queried respondents on other issues: Regarding Netanyahu’s corruption trial, 59% said they oppose halting his trial if he succeeds in forming a government, while 32% believe his trial should be suspended.

The poll also showed that while a majority of Jewish Israelis — 53% — still oppose a coalition that relies on support from Arab-majority parties, the idea has been gaining acceptance among left-wing Jewish Israelis since September 2019, from 71% to 79%, among centrists from 31% to 47%, and among right-wingers from just 5% to 21%.

However, a majority of Arab Israelis — 74% — oppose having an Arab party in a coalition.

In a Channel 13 poll aired Tuesday evening, some minor shifts were recorded in the standing of the parties. Likud and Yesh Atid made slight gains, whereas Gideon Saar’s New Hope slipped into single digits. Blue and White, Meretz and Ra’am just got in over the threshold.

The results were as follows:

Likud: 29
Yesh Atid: 20
Yamina: 11
New Hope: 9
Joint List: 8
United Torah Judaism: 7
Yisrael Beytenu: 7
Shas: 6
Labor: 6
Religious Zionism: 5
Blue and White: 4
Meretz: 4
Ra’am: 4