A poll conducted by the Lazar Research Institute revealed that the Blue and White party is collapsing and will not pass the electoral threshold, while a party led by Gadi Eisenkot is gaining strength, securing 10 seats.
The poll, conducted for Maariv, showed that if elections were held today, Naftali Bennett’s party would receive 23 seats and Likud would get 21.
The Democrats would win 11 seats, Gadi Eisenkot’s party 10, and Yisrael Beytenu nine. Three parties would win eight seats each: Shas, Yesh Atid, and Otzma Yehudit. United Torah Judaism would win seven seats, Ra’am (United Arab List) six, Hadash-Ta’al five, and Religious Zionism four.
Divided into blocs, the anti-Netanyahu bloc would win 61 Knesset seats, forming a narrow coalition, while the coalition parties would win 48 seats. The remaining 11 seats would go to the Arab parties, which traditionally avoid joining any coalition.
On Thursday, Kan News published a recording of Blue and White leader Benny Gantz speaking to party activists, in which he can be heard attacking figures within the center-left camp.
"The radical left is putting out money to get rid of me," Gantz is heard telling the activists.
He added, "I’ve changed my phone seven times, not because the Iranians or the media are looking for me, and it's not Netanyahu, although maybe he wants me. It’s because the radical left is putting out money to get rid of me. Not the right. That’s the situation."
Recent reports have confirmed that Gantz is considering joining the government, due to expected opposition from ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich to a partial deal with Hamas. Since then, Gantz has faced sharp criticism on the matter.