A new poll published Friday found that a majority of Israelis believe Israeli Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu should step away from political life and not run in the next election, as opposition parties continue to gain strength in the latest surveys.

The poll, published by Maariv and conducted by Lazar Research, comes amid continued uncertainty surrounding the conflict with Iran, growing concerns over Israel becoming increasingly entangled again in Lebanon, and rising public attention to escalating violence inside Israeli society.

According to the survey, both the Likud party and Otzma Yehudit each dropped by one seat this week.

The poll found that 55% of Israelis believe Netanyahu should not seek reelection and should retire from politics altogether. By contrast, 38% said they want him to continue leading Likud into the next election, while 7% said they were undecided.

The survey also showed the coalition bloc slipping to 49 seats, while the Zionist opposition bloc climbed to 61 seats — enough for a governing majority in the 120-seat Knesset.

Despite losses by Likud and Otzma Yehudit, the coalition’s decline was partially offset by Shas gaining one mandate.

Under the poll’s current breakdown, Naftali Bennett’s “Beyachad” party would emerge as the largest faction with 26 seats, followed closely by Likud with 25 seats.

The “Yashar” party led by Gadi Eisenkot received 16 seats, while the Democrats were projected to win 10 mandates. Otzma Yehudit and Yisroel Beiteinu each received 9 seats, as did Shas. Yahadut HaTorah was projected at 7 seats, while Hadash-Ta’al and Ra’am each stood at 5.

Within the opposition bloc, Eisenkot’s Yashar party strengthened by an additional seat compared to the previous poll, helping push the opposition camp to the 61-seat threshold. Other opposition parties remained largely unchanged from last week’s numbers, while the Arab parties collectively held steady at 10 seats.

The poll also examined a possible joint political list between Yoaz Hendel and Chili Tropper. According to the survey, such a slate would narrowly pass the electoral threshold with 3.3% of the vote, translating into four Knesset seats.

However, that scenario would lower the opposition bloc from 61 seats to 58, while the coalition would also weaken slightly, dropping to 48 seats.

The Maariv poll additionally revisited the possibility of a united alliance between Bennett’s Beyachad party, Eisenkot’s Yashar faction, and Yisroel Beiteinu.

In that scenario, the combined list would receive 49 mandates — two more than in last week’s poll.

The Democrats, who previously surged to 14 seats due to voters opposed to such a merger, would decline to 11 seats in the updated scenario, though that would still leave them one seat stronger than in the standard polling model without a united opposition slate.

Even with the three-way alliance, however, the opposition bloc would stand at 60 seats — one short of the 61-seat majority that a similar arrangement achieved in the previous poll. Netanyahu’s coalition, meanwhile, would rise slightly to 50 seats, gaining one mandate compared to last week.

{Matzav.com}