New poll shows Eisenkot leading as Netanyahu bloc struggles

According to a poll conducted by the Kantar Institute for Kan News, Gadi Eisenkot would secure 24 seats if elections were held today, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party would receive 22. In this scenario, the anti-Netanyahu bloc would hold 57 seats and the right-wing bloc 51, leaving both short of the 61-seat majority required to form a government. Other projected results include 14 seats for the alliance of Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, 10 for Yair Golan, and 9 each for Itamar Ben-Gvir and Avigdor Liberman. The poll also modeled a scenario involving the entry of Ofer Winter into the race. His party would win five seats, potentially weakening the parties of Bezalel Smotrich and Ben-Gvir while boosting Liberman. Under these conditions, the right-wing bloc would fall to 50 seats, while the anti-Netanyahu bloc would rise to 58. Associates of the Prime Minister stated they are considering a political response to Winter's potential candidacy, noting that he had previously declined an offer to join the Likud slate.