New Poll: Gantz’s Party Soaring as Likud Nosedives, Smotrich out of Knesset

By Staff, Agencies

“Israel’s” so-called “National Unity” party leader Benny Gantz would have a smooth pathway to a governing coalition if elections were held today, and would be the public’s pick for prime minister.

The survey, aired by Hebrew Channel 12 Monday, showed a significant dent in support for Zionist PM Benjamin Netanyahu and his prewar coalition partners, underlining public criticism of the government over mistakes leading up to Al-Aqsa Flood and its handling of the ensuing war and efforts to free the captured “Israelis” held in Gaza.

According to the poll, the parties in Netanyahu’s prewar coalition would muster just 44 Knesset seats compared to the 64 they won in the November 2022 elections, while a presumed future coalition bloc made up of parties that were defeated in November 2022 would win 71 seats in the 120-member Knesset.

The survey also showed that Gantz, who temporarily joined Netanyahu’s coalition to have a seat at the table running the war, would lead the largest party in the Knesset, while the far-right Religious Zionism party of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, which ran on a joint slate with “Otzma Yehudit” in the last election, would fail to make it back into the Knesset.

Gantz’s party would soar to 37 seats from its current 12, the survey found, while Netanyahu’s Likud would crash to 18 from its current 32, though that would still make it the second-largest party.

Among likely Gantz partners, centrist “Yesh Atid” would snag 15 seats, down from its current 24, while the right-wing “Yisrael Beytenu” would win nine, up from the six it controls now. “Ra’am” would keep its five seats and left-wing “Meretz” would also win five seats after failing to cross the 3.25 percent vote threshold to enter the Knesset last time around.

The ultra-Orthodox “Shas and United Torah Judaism” parties would keep their current 11 and seven seats respectively, while far-right “Otzma Yehudit” would win eight seats, down from the 14 it mustered together with Religious Zionism in their temporary alliance.