Yashar! emerges as largest party, Eisenkot preferred for PM if elections held today - poll

Channel 12 poll shows Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar! leading with 24 seats, while Eisenkot remains ahead of Netanyahu as the preferred candidate for prime minister.Follow us on GoogleAmid reports that the Shas Party could be willing to sit with him in government, Yashar Party head Gadi Eisenkot did not rule out that option entirely. Here, Eisenkot attends the Sagi Laws for Equality Confrence at the Peres Center in Jaffa earlier this week.(photo credit: MIRIAM ALSTER/FLASH90)ByMAARIV ONLINEJULY 22, 2026 01:53Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar! party would emerge as the largest faction in the Knesset if elections were held today, winning 24 seats, according to a Channel 12 poll published Monday evening.The poll asked respondents, “If elections for the Knesset were held today, which party would you vote for?” It also found that Eisenkot remained the preferred candidate for prime minister, ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.The survey was conducted by the Midgam Institute, headed by Mano Geva, in cooperation with iPanel.The poll, reported by Channel 12 political analyst Amit Segal, showed that the entry of new parties had changed the balance between the political blocs to some extent.Most opposition voters said they would prefer to form a government that relied on outside support from an Arab party if their bloc failed to secure the 61 seats needed for a majority.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the Negev Conference in the southern city of Dimona, southern Israel, July 17, 2026. (credit: Tsafrir Abayov/Flash90)Coalition voters want Haredi parties participating in the next governmentCoalition voters, meanwhile, expressed satisfaction with the agreements reached between Netanyahu and the haredi, or ultra-Orthodox, parties. They also said they wanted the haredi parties to participate in the next governing coalition.According to the poll, the distribution of seats between the blocs remained unchanged from the previous survey. The Zionist opposition parties received 59 seats, compared with 51 for the coalition parties.Adding the Arab parties’ 10 seats would bring the opposition’s total to 69. Without their support, however, neither bloc would reach the 61-seat majority required to form a government.Eisenkot also continued to lead Netanyahu in the question of suitability for prime minister, receiving 43% support, unchanged from the previous week. Netanyahu received 37%.Opposition voters favor Arab party support over new electionsChannel 12 asked opposition voters which course of action they would prefer if their bloc failed to secure 61 seats. Some 44% said a government should be formed with outside support from an Arab party, while 28% favored holding another election.Another 13% supported forming a unity government with Likud, 6% favored forming a government with a haredi party, and 9% said they did not know.Coalition voters were asked whether they were satisfied with the agreements between Netanyahu and the haredi parties. Under the agreements, the haredi parties secured the passage of the Basic Law: Torah Study and protection against the arrest of draft evaders. In return, Netanyahu advanced legislation to divide the attorney general’s position and promoted the Communications Law.Some 59% said they were satisfied with the agreements, 19% said they were dissatisfied, and 22% said they did not know.Follow us on Google