A new Maariv poll published Friday shows Naftali Bennett’s “Beyachad” party continuing its downward trend, falling two seats to a new low of 18 mandates, while Gadi Eisenkot’s “Yashar!” party remains unchanged.

The survey shows Likud gaining one seat to 22 mandates, while Otzma Yehudit also rises by one seat to 9. Shas drops one seat to 8. Overall, the opposition bloc slips to 60 mandates, down one from the previous poll, while the coalition climbs to 50 mandates. The Arab parties remain at 10 mandates.

The poll also examined a joint Bennett-Eisenkot ticket. If Naftali Bennett heads the unified list, it would receive 33 mandates, one fewer than in the previous poll, and the opposition bloc would fall to 58 mandates, compared with 52 for Netanyahu’s coalition. If Gadi Eisenkot heads the joint list, it would win 37 mandates, four more than under Bennett, while the overall balance of blocs remains 60 mandates for the opposition, 50 for the coalition, and 10 for the Arab parties.

Eisenkot also leads Bennett on the question of who is better suited to serve as prime minister, 34% to 26%, with 40% saying they are undecided. Among opposition voters, Eisenkot holds a narrower lead, 47% to 43%.

The survey also found that 63% of Israelis believe Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should always act according to Israel’s interests, even if doing so conflicts with requests from the U.S. president. Another 18% said he should prioritize maintaining the U.S.-Israel alliance, while 19% said they were undecided.

On Netanyahu’s criminal trial, 46% of respondents said the legal proceedings should continue until a verdict is reached. Another 36% believe Netanyahu should pursue a plea agreement or pardon, even if it requires him to leave political life, while 18% were undecided.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)