A new poll by the Lazar Research institute showed that if elections were held today, the Likud party would lead the National Union by three Knesset seats.
The poll, conducted for Maariv, showed that such elections would bring the Likud 23 seats, and National Unity just 20.
Two parties would be tied for third place: Yisrael Beytenu and Yesh Atid, both with 14 seats. In fourth place, with ten seats, Shas and the Democrats (a merger of Labor and Meretz) would see a second tie.
Among the smaller parties, both Otzma Yehudit and United Torah Judaism (UTJ) would win seven seats each, followed by Hadash-Ta'al with six seats, Ra'am (United Arab List) with five seats, and Religious Zionism with four seats.
The poll was conducted before Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was eliminated. Divided into blocs, the current coalition parties would win 51 Knesset seats, while the opposition would win 58 Knesset seats. The remaining 11 seats would be held by the Arab parties, which traditionally do not join either side's coalition.
If former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett ran in the elections, however, his party would receive 23 seats, and the Likud would drop to 18 seats. In such a case, National Unity would win just 13 Knesset seats.
The composition of the smaller parties in such a scenario would also change: Yesh Atid would drop to 11 seats, Shas would win 10, Yisrael Beytenu nine, and the Democrats eight. Otzma Yehudit and UTJ would win the same seven seats as in the previous poll, and both Hadash-Ta'al and Ra'am would win five seats each. Religious Zionism would win four Knesset seats.
In such a case, if Bennett's party joined the opposition parties, the group would be able to form a coalition, with 64 Knesset seats; current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition would win just 46 Knesset seats.