“Israeli” Elections: Polls Show Netanyahu Bloc One Seat Short of Majority

By Staff, Agencies

The final “Israeli” network polls before the November 1 election have all predicted that Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu’s right bloc will fall just short of a majority in the 120-seat Knesset.

Surveys aired by Channel 12 and Channel 13 news on Friday, and the Kan public broadcaster on Thursday, all gave the Netanyahu bloc 60 seats, meaning the smallest shift in favor of the opposition leader could enable him to form a coalition and return to power. 

Netanyahu’s Likud was projected to win 30-31 seats, and be the largest party, in the three polls.

For his part, Zionist Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid was seen set to win 24-27 seats, while the far-right Religious Zionism, aligned with Netanyahu’s bloc, was predicted to be the third largest party in the Knesset with 14-15 seats.

Religious Zionism — a far-right alliance headed by former minister Bezalel Smotrich, along with MK Itamar Ben Gvir’s “Otzma Yehudit”— has recently shot up in the polls, largely at Likud’s expense, though Netanyahu’s party has made gains at the expense of its partners in the run-up to past elections.

Ultra-Orthodox parties, Shas and United Torah Judaism, which are also allied with Netanyahu consistently polled at 8 and 7 seats respectively seats in all three polls.

The Channel 13 poll broadcast Friday predicted that the Likud will win 30 seats; Yesh Atid, 27; Religious Zionism, 15; 'National Unity,' 10; Shas, 8; UTJ, 7; Labor, 6; Yisrael Beytenu, 5; Meretz, 4; Hadash-Ta’al, 4; and Ra’am with 4.