The right-wing – religious bloc fell slightly in the latest Knesset poll ahead of the November election, leaving no clear path for either Prime Minister Yair Lapid or Opposition Benjamin Netanyahu to form a new government.
The new poll, conducted by Panels Politics and published Wednesday morning by Radio 103FM, found that if the election were held today, the four parties aligned with Opposition Leader Netanyahu – the Likud, Shas, United Torah Judaism, and the Religious Zionist Party – would win a total of 60 seats – one shy of a majority and one less than the bloc received in the previous Panels politics poll, released last Friday.
The parties included in the current government coalition saw a net gain of one seat in this week’s poll, rising from 55 seats last week to 56, with the remaining four mandates going to the joint Arab list of the Hadash and Ta’al factions, which are currently in the Opposition.
The Likud held stable in this week’s poll at 32 seats, while the Religious Zionist Party alliance with Otzma Yehudit and Noam fell by one seat, from 14 to 13 mandates.
Shas and United Torah Judaism held steady at eight and seven seats respectively.
Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked’s Jewish Home party rose to 2.6%, but remains below the 3.25% electoral threshold.
Prime Minister Lapid’s Yesh Atid party gained two seats in the poll, rising from 23 mandates to 25, while the National Unity alliance of the New Hope and Blue and White parties fell from 12 seats to 11, the list’s poorest showing yet in a poll.
Labor and Meretz each received five seats, while the United Arab List barely crossed the electoral threshold with four.
The Arab nationalist party Balad, which previous ran together with Hadash and Ta’al as part of the Joint Arab List, received 1.2% in the poll, far below the minimum to enter the Knesset.
Yamina MK Abir Kara’s Economic Freedom party received 1.6% in the poll.
The remaining small parties, including the Green Leaf, Tzeirim Boarim, and Economic Party all polled under 1%.