Two polls conducted in Israel on Friday indicated that the right-wing Likud party, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has managed to narrow the gap with the centrist party of Benny Gantz, which is currently leading. The polls, commissioned by the left-leaning Maariv newspaper and the right-leaning Israel Hayom newspaper, suggest that Likud is set to secure 21 seats, coming in behind the National Unity party, which could receive 24 seats.
A previous poll by Maariv last week suggested that Gantz's party could obtain 27 seats, and earlier this year, polls indicated the possibility of him winning over thirty seats. The Maariv poll projected that the ruling coalition would secure 52 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, compared to 58 for the main opposition parties. It also anticipated that the United Arab List and the Hadash-Left Front coalition, which includes the Democratic Front for Peace and Equality and the Arab Movement for Change, would gain ten seats.
In contrast, the Israel Hayom poll expects the ruling coalition to acquire 50 seats, while opposition parties would get 61 seats, and the United Arab List and the Hadash-Left Front coalition would secure nine seats. Both polls revealed that a majority of voters prefer Gantz as Prime Minister if the choice is between him and Netanyahu. However, the Israel Hayom poll indicated that a coalition consisting of former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Avigdor Lieberman, and Gideon Sa’ar, who are centrist-right politicians not aligned with Likud, could surpass both Likud and Gantz's party.
