Poll: New Hendel-Zelecha Alliance Passes Threshold, Shaking Up Knesset Blocs
A new poll by the Kantar Institute shows the new alliance of Yoaz Hendel and Yaron Zelecha winning 4 Knesset seats, complicating coalition math and reducing Gadi Eisenkot's bloc to 51 seats.
A new political alliance formed by former Communications Minister Yoaz Hendel and economist Professor Yaron Zelecha passes the electoral threshold to win 4 Knesset seats, according to a new poll conducted by the Kantar Institute and published Sunday evening on Kan News.
The political partnership was established after Knesset Member Chili Tropper left the reservist party.
Shift in the Bloc Map
The emergence of the Hendel-Zelecha alliance, which does not align with either major political bloc, complicates the current electoral map:
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The Netanyahu Bloc secures 52 seats in this poll.
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The Eisenkot Bloc drops from 55 seats in the previous poll to 51 seats.
If Yoaz Hendel and Yaron Zelecha choose to join Benjamin Netanyahu, his bloc would reach 56 seats. Conversely, if they align with Gadi Eisenkot, his bloc would stand at 55 seats, making any potential coalition dependent on the Islamist Ra'am party to cross the required 61-seat majority.
Party-by-Party Breakdown
The entry of the new alliance has eroded support for several established parties:
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Yashar!, led by Gadi Eisenkot, lost one seat, dropping to 23.
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Likud also dropped by one seat to 20.
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The BeYachad alliance (Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid) fell to 13 seats.
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The Democrats, Otzma Yehudit, and United Torah Judaism each lost one seat compared to last week, standing at 8 seats each.
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The Hadash-Ta'al alliance secured 7 seats.
Parties showing growth include Mansour Abbas's Ra'am, which rose from 5 to 6 seats, and Bezalel Smotrich's Religious Zionism, which climbed to 6 seats following its merger with Moshe Feiglin.
Suitability for Prime Minister
In head-to-head matchups for the premiership, Benjamin Netanyahu continues to lead Naftali Bennett with 37% to 32%.
However, Gadi Eisenkot maintains a consistent 3% lead over the prime minister, with 38% of respondents preferring the Yashar! leader compared to 35% for Netanyahu.
When comparing Bennett and Eisenkot directly, the Yashar! chairman holds a commanding lead of 36% compared to just 17% for the former prime minister.
