Netanyahu's Pyrrhic Victory and the Right-Wing Bloc's Slide
A tactical win against Ofer Winter may cost the right a governing coalition as votes leak to the center-left.
Netanyahu's Pyrrhic Victory and the Right-Wing Bloc's Slide — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched a sharp attack this evening (Tuesday, October 13, 2026) against Prof. Yaron Zalicha, chairman of the Economic Party, on Channel 14, accusing him of hiding his Meretz vote and warning that a left-wing victory would mean a "judicial dictatorship" and the closure of the channel. [^1] The attack came as Netanyahu intensifies pressure on Ofer Winter, chairman of the "Amcha Yisrael" party, demanding he withdraw from the race. [^2] Winter's party has dropped below the electoral threshold for the first time, polling at 3.1%—about 20,000 votes short. [^3] Yet Direct Polls CEO Tsuriel Sharon calls this a "Pyrrhic victory": most of Winter's fleeing votes are flowing to the center-left bloc, not to Likud. [^3] The entire right-wing bloc has fallen to 57 seats in recent polls, a figure not seen since June. [^3] Meanwhile, Naftali Bennett's B'Yachad party continues its surge, reaching 13 seats—a jump of 4 seats within two weeks—and released a detailed plan on Tuesday to cut bureaucracy and boost support for new immigrants. [^4] MK Vladimir Beliak of Yachad expressed confidence that the change bloc will win more than 61 seats, stating, "we are in a surge and excellent momentum." [^5] The right's arithmetic is further complicated by four Haredi parties—"Hatzibur Hacharedi," "Tzahor Shachor," "Achi," and "Noam"—which together burn about a million and a half votes, potentially costing the bloc several seats. [^3] Otzma Yehudit has placed Yossi Goldberg, a Haredi candidate, on its Knesset list, hoping to capture some of those disaffected voters. [^6] Netanyahu has been trying to arrange a conversation with Winter's rabbi, Rabbi Binyahu Shmueli, but the rabbi refuses to speak with him or intervene. [^2] The question now is whether Netanyahu's tactical victories are hollowing out his own coalition faster than they are consolidating it. Netanyahu trial, Qatargate, and gender gaps: a fractured political landscape — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a Channel 14 interview this evening, called for his trial to be "ended immediately" and for a criminal investigation to be opene