Poll shows Eisenkot, Netanyahu neck-and-neck as public’s preferred option for PM

A new Channel 12 poll shows Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Yashar party chair Gadi Eisenkot tied at 38% each as the public's preferred prime minister, a shift from earlier this month when Eisenkot led 43% to 34%. The poll also projects the anti-Netanyahu bloc winning 60 seats, short of a majority, with Yashar as the largest party at 23 seats.

A new television poll aired Monday evening shows Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his foremost challenger, former IDF chief Gadi Eisenkot, tied at 38% each when Israelis are asked whom they would prefer to see leading the country. The findings mark a departure from a Channel 12 poll earlier this month, which gave Eisenkot a 43% to 34% lead over Netanyahu. However, Israel does not hold a direct vote for prime minister, and the survey ahead of the October 27 Knesset election shows the pro- and anti-Netanyahu blocs in a familiar deadlock. The anti-Netanyahu bloc, excluding Arab parties, would win 60 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, short of a 61-seat majority, while the pro-Netanyahu bloc would win 50. Arab parties would win the remaining 10 seats. Eisenkot's Yashar party would be the largest with 23 seats, followed by Likud with 22, and Bennett's Together with 16. The left-wing Democrats would win 10, Yisrael Beytenu 9, and the Haredi parties Shas and UTJ as well as Otzma Yehudit would each win 8. The poll was conducted by Manu Geva's Midgam firm with 509 participants and a 4.4% margin of error.