i24NEWS Poll: Eisenkot jumps to 21 seats, gaining on Netanyahu's majority in the Knesset
Likud maintains its lead at the top, but the anti-Netanyahu bloc is scraping the 61 seats
A new i24NEWS poll on parliamentary seats, conducted Thursday by Direct Polls, shows that the attempt by Benny Gantz and Chili Tropper to run on separate electoral lists leads to both parties collapsing below the electoral threshold. Taking advantage of the vacuum and continuing the momentum is Gadi Eisenkot and the “Yashar” party, which has surged to its highest level in recent weeks.
According to the survey data, the Likud party maintains its strength as the largest party in Israel and shows a stable figure of 29 seats. Right after it, in second place, is the Yashar party led by Gadi Eisenkot, which climbed to 21 seats. The Democrats party maintains its strength with a double-digit figure of 10 seats.
Three parties received 9 seats each: the Together party, which sees a slight decrease following recent internal splits, Shas, which hold steady, and the Yisrael Beiteinu party. Following them on the list are Itamar Ben Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit party and the United Torah Judaism party, both of which yield 8 seats in the current poll.
The Joint List wins 7 seats, the Religious Zionism Party gets 5 seats, and Mansour Abbas's Ra'am party closes the list with 5 seats as well.
The "Zehut" party, the "Economic" party, and "Blue and White" led by Gantz and Simchi, failed to cross the electoral threshold as well as did Tropper and Hendel.
Overall, the big winner of the poll is Gadi Eisenkot, who draws most of the center-right votes due to the failed runs of the new parties. On the other hand, the division between the blocs remains especially fragile: opposition supporters, including the Joint List and Ra'am, reach 61 seats, while the current coalition bloc stops at 59 seats.
And what happens if a new right-wing party is established?
The survey also examined who Israelis would vote for if a new right-wing party led by Yuli Edelstein, Gilad Erdan, and Ayelet Shaked were to run in the elections. The results show virtually no change in the overall distribution of seats. The proposed party would also fail to cross the electoral threshold, alongside Gantz-Sa'ar, Tropper-Handel, Zehut, and the Economic Party.
Are Trump and Netanyahu acting in full coordination?
The survey also examined public opinion on the relationship between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump amid recent developments involving Iran.
Among coalition supporters, 52% believe the two leaders are still acting in full coordination. Opposition supporters hold the opposite view, with 68% saying each leader is now focused primarily on advancing his own country's interests. Across the full sample, 51% believe domestic interests are driving both leaders, while 32% still believe Trump and Netanyahu remain fully coordinated.
The survey was conducted by Direct Polls Ltd., headed by Tzuriel Sharon, for i24NEWS on July 9, 2026, using a digital survey system combined with an online panel. It included 527 Israeli adults (18 and older) in a representative sample of the general population. The poll has a margin of error of ±4.2 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.