A new Kan News poll released on Sunday shows Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party becoming the largest faction in the Knesset for the first time, winning 24 seats, ahead of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s Likud, which receives 23 seats.

The poll shows Naftali Bennett’s B’Yachad party with 15 seats, down one seat from the previous Kan News poll. Yisrael Beiteinu rises by one seat to 10, while Otzma Yehudit drops one seat to 8. Ra’am also gains one seat to reach 5, while Hadash-Ta’al loses one seat and falls to 5. There is no change for The Democrats (9), Religious Zionism (5), Shas (8), or United Torah Judaism (8).

The poll also found that three parties remain below the electoral threshold: the Benny Gantz–Dedi Simhi alliance (2.7%), the Hili Tropper–Yoaz Hendel reservists’ alliance (3.1%), and Balad (2.0%).

According to the survey, Netanyahu’s bloc has 52 seats, down one from the previous poll, while parties opposed to Netanyahu hold 68 seats. However, if the major opposition parties maintain their refusal to form a coalition with Hadash-Ta’al and Ra’am, they would have only 58 seats.

Kan News also examined a scenario in which two new right-wing parties are formed. A party led by Gilad Erdan, Ayelet Shaked, and Yuli Edelstein would win 5 seats, while a party led by Ofer Winter would fail to cross the electoral threshold. The Erdan-Shaked-Edelstein party would draw support from Likud, Yashar, Religious Zionism, Otzma Yehudit, and Yisrael Beiteinu. Under that scenario, Netanyahu’s bloc would fall to 49 seats, while the anti-Netanyahu bloc together with the Erdan-Shaked-Edelstein party would reach 61 seats without relying on the Arab parties.

Another scenario tested Hili Tropper joining Yashar instead of the reservists’ alliance. In that case, Yashar would rise to 25 seats, extending its lead over Likud to two seats, with the additional seat coming from Bennett’s B’Yachad party, which would drop to 14 seats.

In head-to-head polling for prime minister, Eisenkot leads Netanyahu 41% to 37%. Netanyahu leads Bennett 38% to 34%, while Eisenkot leads Bennett 39% to 21%. In the Netanyahu-Bennett matchup, 28% of respondents said neither candidate is suitable for the position.

Asked which issue will have the greatest impact on their vote in the upcoming election, 25% chose security, 24% cited the October 7 massacre and the establishment of a state commission of inquiry, 22% selected the economy and cost of living, and 12% pointed to judicial reform.

The survey also found that 40% of respondents believe Shin Bet Director David Zini is performing well, while 34% believe he is performing poorly. Regarding the performance of the Israel Police and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, 59% expressed a negative opinion, compared to 33% who viewed their performance positively. In addition, 56% said they support allowing businesses to operate on Shabbos, while 29% oppose the idea.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)