The new Blue and White alliance of Benny Gantz’s Israel Resilience party and Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid faction would become the largest party in the Knesset if new elections were held today, a new poll shows – but the right-wing – religious bloc would retain a narrow majority.
According to the poll, conducted by Maagar Mohot and published by i24NEWS and Israel Hayom Sunday evening, if new elections were held today, the Blue and White party of Gantz and Lapid would win 36 mandates.
The Likud, by contrast, would gain a single mandate over its 2015 performance, winning a total of 31 seats.
But the right-wing and haredi parties would retain the rightist majority in the Knesset, though by a razor-thin margin, with 62 seats to 58 for the left-wing – Arab bloc.
The New Right, led by Education Minister Naftali Bennett, would become the third largest party with nine seats, following by Labor with eight. Tied with Labor for fourth place is the Jewish Home-National Union-Otzma Yehudit alliance with eight seats.
Both of the haredi factions, United Torah Judaism and Shas, would win seven seats each, as would the far-left Meretz party.
Yisrael Beytenu, Kulanu, Gesher, Zehut and the Balad-United Arab List alliance would all fail to cross the threshold. Yisrael Beytenu and Kulanu would win three seats-worth of votes, while Gesher, Balad, and Zehut would receive two seats-worth. Four seats are needed to cross the electoral threshold.