JERUSALEM, Sept 13 (Askume) – If elections were held now, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party would become the largest party in parliament since last October, a poll showed on Friday, overtaking the majority party after the attacks on May 7.
A poll published by the left-wing daily Maariv showed the Likud winning 24 seats and currently holding 32 seats, the highest score in a Maariv survey since October 7. Of these, the National Unity Party led by centrist former general Benny Gantz won 21 seats.
Polls show Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition with nationalist religious and ultra-Orthodox parties would lose in any election currently held, winning 53 seats in the 120-seat parliament, while the main opposition party would get 58.
But Likud’s lead reflects Netanyahu’s progress since last year, when Hamas gunmen swept into Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostage, and public outrage hit his support ratings.
In the early days of the war against Hamas in Gaza , polls often showed that Likud would win no more than 16–18 seats in parliament.
The survey also showed that Netanyahu’s personal standing as prime minister is improving, with respondents preferring him to any other potential candidate except former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who is now retired from politics.
The government has been united for nearly two years, despite tensions in the coalition between Netanyahu and several ministers and regular protests by Israelis demanding a deal to repatriate Gaza hostages. Elections are unlikely to be held before 2026.
Netanyahu clashed with Defense Minister Yoav Galant and two hardliners from his own party, National Security Minister Itamar Bengville and Finance Minister Bezrel Smotrich.
As Likud continues to grow, two nationalist religious parties – Ben Gvir’s Jewish Power and Smotrich’s Religious Zionists – are losing support, prompting both parties to not leave the government.
