
DEADLOCKED: Poll Shows Coalition Still Mired at 49 Seats as Opposition Clings to Governing Edge
Israel’s political landscape remains effectively frozen, according to a new Maariv poll released Friday, with Israeli Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu’s coalition still unable to break out of a 49-seat rut while the opposition continues to hold a narrow path to a 61-seat governing majority.
The survey found virtually no meaningful shifts in voter preferences, suggesting that the balance of power between the rival political camps has remained largely unchanged despite ongoing political developments.
Leading the field is Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar! party with 23 projected Knesset seats, narrowly ahead of Likud, which is forecast to secure 22 mandates.
Naftali Bennett’s Together party ranks third with an estimated 15 seats, while Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beytenu comes in fourth with 10.
Further down the standings, the Democrats are projected to win nine seats. Otzma Yehudit and United Torah Judaism are each expected to capture eight mandates, while Shas is forecast to receive seven. The Arab parties Hadash-Ta’al and Ra’am are each projected to finish with five seats.
The Religious Zionist Party and the Zionist Home party, led by Yoaz Hendel and Chili Tropper, are each expected to barely clear the electoral threshold with four seats apiece.
The poll indicates that Benny Gantz’s Blue and White party would not enter the next Knesset, nor would the Arab Balad party, as both fall below the minimum threshold required for representation.
When the results are grouped into political blocs, the opposition opposed to Netanyahu reaches the critical 61-seat majority needed to form a government, while the current coalition remains stuck at 49 seats. Another 10 seats would belong to the Arab parties, which have traditionally remained outside governing coalitions.