Poll: Right-Wing Bloc Still Short of Majority

The right-wing-religious bloc of parties remains short of a majority in the Knesset, according to a new poll published Friday.

The poll, conducted by Panels Politics and published by Maariv on Friday, found that if new elections were held today, the right-wing bloc would win a total of 59 seats, two short of an outright majority.

That marks a one-seat decline since the previous Panels Politics poll, released last Friday.

The Likud is poised to remain the largest faction in the Knesset, rising from the 30 seats it won in 2021 to 31 seats, a decline of two seats since last week’s Panels Politics poll.

Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid Party is holding steady with 24 seats, seven more than the party won in 2021, while the National Unity alliance of Blue and White with the New Hope Party gained one seat in this week’s poll, rising to 13 seats from 12 last Friday.

Labor lost one seat this week, falling to five mandates, the same number Meretz received.

Among the Arab factions, the United Arab List is projected to win four seats, as is the Hadash-Ta’al alliance. The Arab nationalist faction Balad, which split off from the Joint Arab List, rose from 1.2% in last week’s poll to 1.6%. Balad was banned this week from running in the election, but has vowed to appeal the decision to the High Court.

The Shas and United Torah Judaism Parties held steady at eight and seven seats respectively, while the joint ticket of the Religious Zionist, Otzma Yehudit, and Noam factions rose from 12 seats to 13.

Jewish Home fell slightly, from 2.0% in the previous poll to 1.9%.