Gadi Eisenkot continues to strengthen his position at the forefront of the Israeli political scene, after a new poll showed a widening gap between his party and the Likud led by Benjamin Netanyahu, at a time when the current coalition camp recorded a noticeable improvement, driven by the progress of the parties of Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, which reflects the continued complexity in the map of the upcoming elections and the inability of either camp to resolve the race easily.

According to a report published by the Israeli “Walla” website about a poll for the Israeli newspaper “Maariv”, the “Yashar!” party has strengthened. Headed by Gadi Eisenkot, its position was in the lead, recording its highest result so far with 26 seats, while the Likud Party headed by Benjamin Netanyahu declined by one seat compared to the previous poll, settling at 20 seats.

Despite the weakness of the Authority Party, the total number of seats in the current coalition parties rose to 49 seats, after the “Otzma Yehudit” party headed by Itamar Ben Gvir advanced by one seat to reach 9 seats, and the “Religious Zionism” party headed by Bezalel Smotrich advanced by one seat to 5 seats.

As for the “Together” party headed by Naftali Bennett, it maintained 14 seats as in the previous poll, while the “Democrats” party headed by Yair Golan and the “Israel Our Home” party headed by Avigdor Lieberman remained at 10 seats each.

As a result, the camp of the Zionist opposition parties rose to 60 seats, without counting the “Zionist Home – Reserve Soldiers” party, which received only 2.9% of the votes and did not exceed the electoral threshold, after a series of previous polls gave it 4 seats.

The poll indicated that it was conducted before the announcement of the alliance between the Arab Front for Change and the Rally, but the list of the Arab Front for Change nevertheless rose by one seat to 6 seats.

With the United Arab List “Ra’em” obtaining 5 seats, the total representation of Arab parties in the current poll amounts to 11 seats.

As for the parties that do not exceed the electoral threshold, with the exception of the “Balad” after it joined the alliance with the “Front” and the “Arab for Change”, they include the “Zionist House – Reserve Soldiers” party, the new party headed by Ofer Winter, the “Unity” party headed by Gilad Erdan, the New Economic Party headed by Professor Yaron Zelekha, in addition to the “Blue and White” party headed by Benny Gantz.

According to the poll, these parties are currently “wasting” the votes of 8.3% of the total electorate, a percentage equivalent to about 10 seats in the Knesset.

Regarding the question of suitability to head the government, Eisenkot this week widened the difference between him and Netanyahu to 14%, after obtaining 52% compared to 38% for Netanyahu.

As for Naftali Bennett, he leads Netanyahu by 45% compared to 41%, a difference similar to what was recorded in the previous poll.

On the other hand, Netanyahu leads Avigdor Lieberman by 42% to 39%.

The poll also addressed the results of the primary elections within Likud, where a clear majority of coalition party voters, 66%, expressed their satisfaction with the results, while the percentage of satisfaction among Likud voters reached 80%.

On the other hand, 13% of opposition voters said that they were dissatisfied with the results, as well as 9% of Likud voters, while 21% of opposition voters and 11% of Likud voters said that they had no opinion on the issue.

Regarding the possibility that Netanyahu will decide to allocate a spot for his son Yair Netanyahu on the Likud list to run in the Knesset elections, the poll showed that coalition voters are more inclined to oppose the move, as 40% rejected it compared to 34% supporting it, while 26% said they had no opinion.

But the picture is turning within Likud itself, as 49% of the party’s voters supported the inclusion of Yair Netanyahu on the list, compared to 34% opposition, while 17% did not express an opinion on the matter.

The poll also revealed a high level of anxiety about accepting the results of the upcoming elections, as half of Israelis, or 50%, said that they fear a scenario in which the losing party in the Knesset elections refuses to acknowledge the results.

On the other hand, 38% said that they were not afraid of this scenario occurring, while 12% responded that they did not know.

The highest level of anxiety was recorded among voters of the Zionist opposition parties, at 56%, and voters of the Arab parties, at 57%.

However, the concern also extends to nearly half of the coalition voters, as 45% of them said that they fear a scenario in which the other party, the opposition, refuses to accept defeat in the Knesset elections.

The poll reflects a very complex electoral picture: Eisenkot is ahead personally and party-wise over Netanyahu, but the coalition camp succeeds in regaining some of its strength, while the small parties, the percentage of electoral votes, and the possibilities of redistribution of votes remain factors that may be decisive in determining the identity of who will actually be able to build a majority in the next Knesset.