All election polls published yesterday evening, Monday April 27, on news channels indicate a similar trend: the Zionist opposition bloc lacks a majority to topple the right-wing government without the support of Hadash and the Arab parties. The polls examined shifts in the political landscape following the merger of Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid’s parties into the “Together” (Biyachad) party.

According to the Kan News poll on Channel 11, Likud remains the largest party with 27 seats (up from 25 in the previous poll), while the new Together party receives 24 seats. In the previous poll, prior to the merger announcement, Bennett’s party received 19 seats alongside 6 for Yesh Atid. This means the merger between the two parties resulted in the loss of one seat.”

“We will do everything to prevent the right-wing government from continuing for another term,” MK Ayman Odeh in an interview broadcast last night on Kan News (Screenshot: Channel 11)

The Yashar party, led by Gadi Eisenkot, gains one seat compared to the previous poll, receiving 15 seats in the Knesset. The Democrats party maintains its stability in the current poll with 11 seats. Otzma Yehudit loses one seat compared to the previous poll, receiving 9 seats. Yisrael Beiteinu receives 8 seats (one less than the previous poll). Shas and United Torah Judaism receive 9 and 7 seats respectively, maintaining their strength from the previous poll. Hadash-Ta’al receives 5 seats, like Ra’am.

According to the poll, the Blue and White, Religious Zionism, Balad, and The Reservists parties do not pass the electoral threshold. In terms of blocks, the Netanyahu bloc receives 52 seats, the Zionist opposition bloc (wins 58 seats, and Hadash-Ta’al and Ra’am receive 10 seats. In a scenario where Hadash and the Arab parties unite into a Joint List, the poll predicts they would receive 13 seats; Likud would maintain 27 seats, while the Biyachad party would lose one seat, as would the Democrats. In this bloc distribution, the Netanyahu bloc remains at 52 seats, while his Zionist opponents drop to 55.

According to the Channel 12 poll, if elections were held today, the Biyachad party would win 26 seats—surpassing Netanyahu’s Likud (which stands at 25) by one seat. Previously, Bennett’s party won 21 seats and Lapid’s party 7, meaning the merger between the two former prime ministers is “less than the sum of its parts.” In second place, as mentioned, is Likud with 25 seats identical to last week. Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party strengthens by one seat, winning 15 seats in the current poll.

Further according to the poll: The Democrats, led by Yair Golan, maintain their strength with 10 seats. Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu strengthens to 9 seats (one more than the previous poll). Shas, led by Aryeh Deri, and Otzma Yehudit, led by Itamar Ben-Gvir, maintain their strength, receiving 9 seats once again. United Torah Judaism also remains at 7 seats, while Hadash-Ta’al and Ra’am would win 5 seats each. Below the electoral threshold: Religious Zionism led by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (2.9%), The Reservists (1.9%), Blue and White (1.9%), and Balad (1.8%).

The Blocs Map: The right-wing coalition stands at 50 seats, and the entire opposition at 70 seats—with Hadash-Ta’al and Ra’am holding 10 seats and the rest of the Zionist opposition parties holding 60. If Hadash and the Arab parties (Ta’al, Ra’am, and Balad) ran together as a Joint List they would reach 12 seats. In this case, Likud would weaken by one seat to 24, Bennett would maintain his strength with 21 seats, and Eisenkot’s Yashar would receive 14 seats.

“The poll published last night on Channel 13 News shows that the new ‘Biyachad’ (Together) list receives 26 seats, one more than the two parties received combined in the previous poll. Likud, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, strengthens by 4 seats compared to the previous poll, also standing at 26 seats. Following them, with a significant gap, is Gadi Eisenkot (Yashar) with 12 seats—identical to previous data.

Otzma Yehudit and Shas maintain their strength with 10 seats each, and Yair Golan (The Democrats) also remains stable with 8 seats. United Torah Judaism receives 7 seats, Israel Beiteinu drops to 6 seats, Hadash-Ta’al rises to 6 seats, and Ra’am remains with 5 seats. Completing the picture is Religious Zionism, which sits on the edge of the electoral threshold with 4 seats—one less than the previous poll. Falling below the electoral threshold are Balad, The Reservists, and Blue and White led by MK Benny Gantz.

The Blocs Map: In this scenario, the Coalition receives 57 seats, reflecting an increase of 3 seats compared to the previous poll. On the other hand, the Opposition wins 52 seats, and Hadash-Ta’al and Ra’am receive 11 seats. In the division between Netanyahu’s supporters and opponents, the Pro-Netanyahu bloc stands at 57 seats compared to 63 for the Anti-Netanyahu bloc. The poll also examined public opinion regarding personal security: 76% of respondents claimed that the government is not doing enough to address the wave of violence, compared to only 12% who expressed satisfaction. The police’s performance received a particularly low grade, with an average of 3.73 out of 10 points.

On Monday evening, the chairman of Hadash-Ta’al, MK Ayman Odeh, stated in an interview broadcast on Channel 11 that his faction intends to do everything to prevent the right-wing government from continuing for another term. MK Odeh compared the political situation in Israel to the rise of fascist regimes in Europe in the last century. ‘We are facing fascism,” Odeh said. “We must do everything to prevent the fascists from continuing. In Germany, the Communists and Social Democrats were the majority, and the Nazis were a minority, but they did not know how to get along and did not correctly see the main goal—preventing the rise of Hitler.” When asked if he was comparing the far-right Israeli government to the Nazi party, he replied: “I am making a historical comparison to what happened in Germany, Italy, and Spain. The opposition was the majority but did not know how to unite against the dictators.”

During the interview, MK Odeh was asked if he would support Naftali Bennett for Prime Minister, despite the latter’s statements that he would not rely on Hadash and the Arab parties. Odeh called Bennett’s words a “racist statement,” but clarified that this does not rule out outside support: “If our vote is decisive, we must continue to recommend someone to replace Netanyahu. This is not the time for names; first, we will get through the elections, see the political map, and then conduct negotiations.”

Odeh harshly attacked the government and said that it is disqualified for additional reasons: “This is the government that killed 70,000 Palestinians, including 20,000 children, and this is the government of the judicial overhaul. Everything must be done to prevent them from continuing.” When asked about his political positions, he replied that he supports the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside the State of Israel and civil equality for all citizens in Israel, positions that enjoy broad support worldwide and even among the democratic public in the United States. “Israeli politics is so racist that it makes positions of peace and equality illegitimate,” he emphasized. Finally, Odeh addressed the possibility of a reunion between the Jewish-Arab Hadash and the Arab parties: “We will do everything so that there will be one single Joint List. This is the will of our public, and this is the tool that will increase voter turnout.”

Related: https://maki.org.il/en/?p=33415