Yashar takes lead over Likud as Arab parties projected to receive 10 seats - poll

A recent poll by Channel 12 News indicates a significant shift in Israel's political landscape, with Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar party now leading with an projected 24 Knesset seats, one seat ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party, which has dropped to 22 seats.

Naftali Bennett's B'Yachad party is positioned third in the poll with 15 seats. Yair Golan's Democrats have seen a rise in support, now projected to win 11 seats. Avigdor Liberman's Yisrael Beytenu is expected to secure 10 seats, and Itamar Ben Gvir's Otzma Yehudit has strengthened to eight seats.

Among the ultra-Orthodox parties, United Torah Judaism is holding steady at eight seats, and Shas remains at seven seats after a previous decline. Bezalel Smotrich's Religious Zionist Party is unchanged with five seats. Both Arab parties, Hadash-Ta'al and Mansour Abbas's Ra'am, are projected to enter the Knesset, each receiving five seats.

Several parties aiming to establish themselves as alternatives failed to cross the electoral threshold. The Zionist Home – The Reservists, led by Hili Tropper and Yoaz Hendel, fell to 2.7%. Balad received 1.6%, Gilad Erdan’s Yamin party garnered 1.3%, and Benny Gantz’s Blue and White received a mere 0.8%. The overall balance between political blocs remains similar to previous polls, with parties opposing Netanyahu projected to win 70 seats, including 60 from Zionist opposition parties and 10 from Arab parties. The current governing coalition parties are projected to secure 50 seats.