Channel 12 News on Friday evening published its final poll before Tuesday’s Knesset elections. The poll, conducted by the Midgam Institute in collaboration with iPanel, finds that Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz slightly decline, while Yair Lapid gains strength.
The bottom line in this poll, as was the case with a Channel 13 News poll also published on Friday, is that neither bloc has enough seats to form a coalition. The pro-Netanyahu bloc has 60 seats, one shy of the required number, the bloc that makes up the current coalition has 56, while the Hadash-Ta’al Party has 4.
The Likud wins 31 seats in the poll, down one from a previous poll, and Yesh Atid is the second largest party in the Knesset, winning 25 seats, one more from a previous poll. The Religious Zionist Party, led by Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir is the third largest party with 14 seats, gaining a seat at the expense of the Likud.
Benny Gantz’s National Unity Party wins 11 seats, losing two seats from a previous poll. Shas has 8 seats, United Torah Judaism - 7, Yisrael Beytenu - 6, Labor - 5, Meretz - 5, and Ra’am and Hadash-Ta’al each win 4 seats.
Parties that fail to pass the electoral threshold include Balad, which wins 1.6%, and the Jewish Home led by Ayelet Shaked with 1.5%.
Participants in the poll were asked to say, regardless of their voting intention, who they think is more reliable - Netanyahu or Lapid. Out of the entire sample, 42% stated that Lapid is more reliable in their opinion, compared to 37% who said that Netanyahu is more reliable.
Regardless of whether he is reliable or not, Netanyahu is viewed as the most suitable candidate for the role of Prime Minister. 46% of respondents who were asked think that Netanyahu is more suitable than Lapid, who gets 32%. Netanyahu also receives 46% approval compared to Gantz, who receives 26%.
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)