The coalition block is losing ground, with the Likud and Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit losing two seats, according to a Maariv election survey published on Friday.
The Religious Zionist Party, led by Bezalel Smotrich, gained a mandate, conferring the coalition a loss of one seat.
According to the poll, the opposition received 60 seats and the Arab parties 10.
If a political party led by former prime minister Naftali Bennett were to join the electoral race, the opposition, under his leadership, would gain six seats, bringing their total to 66 seats, while Netanyahu’s bloc would drop to 44.
When asked who they would vote for were elections held today, respondents allocated the Likud 21 seats, Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beytenu and National Unity led by Benny Gantz both received 16 mandates, Yair Golan’s The Democrats 15, and Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid 13 seats.
Otzma Yehudit and Shas both received nine seats each, while United Torah Judaism remained unchanged with seven seats.
Hadash-Ta’al and Ra’am also remained the same with five seats each.
Religious Zionism received four mandates.
The survey showed that if a new party led by Bennett were to enter the race, with all other parties unchanged, the voting preferences would shift as follows.
Bennett’s party would receive 26 seats, the Likud 19, the Democrats and Yisrael Beytenu 11 each, Yesh Atid 10, while Otzma Yehudit and Shas would receive nine mandates each.
National Unity would receive eight seats, United Torah Judaism 7, while Hadash-Ta’al and Ra’am would garner five mandates.
US-Iran nuclear talks
The survey also revealed that most Israelis, some 61%, are not optimistic regarding the current nuclear talks between the US and Iran.
Forty-one percent believe the talks will lead to no significant progress, while 20% fear failure will result in war.
Only 19% of Israelis believe the talks will lead to a new nuclear agreement, with another 20% unsure of the outcome.
The survey also indicated Israelis are divided with regard to the possibility of a hostage-ceasefire deal occurring.
Thirty-six percent thought it was possible, while 40% believed it was unlikely. An additional 24% were unsure.
The survey was conducted by Maariv and led by Dr. Menahem Lazar from the Lazar Research Institute, in collaboration with Panel4All.
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