Netanyahu's "painful" victory over Winter, Bennett's phenomenal surge - and the burning of votes among the Haredim | Analysis
An i24NEWS and Direct Polls survey reveals a drama in the election campaign: Netanyahu pushes Winter below the electoral threshold, but the entire right-wing bloc weakens to 57 seats. Meanwhile, Bennett surges to 13 seats, and Haredi parties together burn about a million and a half votes.
An i24NEWS and Direct Polls survey published this evening (Tuesday) presents a complex picture for the right-wing bloc. Benjamin Netanyahu's personal campaign against Ofer Winter is bearing tactical fruit: Winter drops below the electoral threshold for the first time with 3.1%, about 20,000 votes short of the threshold. However, Direct Polls CEO Tsuriel Sharon analyzes this as a "Pyrrhic victory" – most of the votes Winter loses flow precisely to the center-left bloc, and the entire right-wing bloc falls to 57 seats, a figure not seen since June. On the other hand, Naftali Bennett continues an impressive streak of strengthening, reaching 13 seats, a jump of 4 seats within two weeks. The gap between him and bloc leader Gadi Eisenkot is still significant, but the continuous trend is a key figure. Additionally, the survey points to a structural problem on the right: four Haredi parties – "Hatzibur Haharedi", "Tzahor Shachor", "Ahi", and "Noam" – together burn about a million and a half votes. This is in addition to about 10% of the Haredi sector who voted in the previous elections and now declare they will not come to the polls. The potential damage to the right-wing bloc is estimated at several seats.