Poll Puts Netanyahu Bloc Ahead 54–52 as Likud Falls to 18 Seats

A new Knesset poll put Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc ahead of the rival Zionist bloc by 54 seats to 52, although neither bloc reached the 61 seats needed for a majority. Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar led with 22 seats while Likud fell to 18, followed by Naftali Bennett's Together on 12 and Yair Golan's Democrats on 10. Eisenkot led Netanyahu 45% to 36% on suitability for prime minister, with 19% answering that they did not know. The September 15 survey of 886 respondents also placed the two Arab lists on a combined 14 seats and reported a 3.3% sampling-error margin.