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An Israeli opinion poll on Sunday showed that former Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot surpasses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in terms of suitability for the premiership, while Netanyahu's camp remains below the parliamentary majority needed to form a government.
According to a poll published by the official Israeli Broadcasting Corporation on Sunday evening, 43 percent of participants considered Eisenkot to be the most suitable for the premiership, compared to 38 percent who chose Netanyahu.
The poll showed that Eisenkot's "Blue and White" party would win 22 out of 120 Knesset seats, compared to 20 seats for Netanyahu's "Likud" party, which decreased by one seat compared to last week's poll.
The Israeli political landscape in the 2026 Knesset elections is divided into two main camps competing to win the majority of 61 seats needed to form a government.
Netanyahu's camp includes right-wing and Haredi parties, represented by the Likud party outside the direct classification of both camps.
Despite the increase in Netanyahu's camp's strength by two seats from last week's poll to 53 seats, it still needs 8 additional seats to reach the required majority of 61 seats to form a government.
In contrast, Eisenkot's camp obtained 50 seats, while the remaining 17 seats were distributed among parties outside the two camps, according to the poll's classification.
The combined Arab lists obtained 13 seats, including 8 for the Joint List and 5 for the "United Arab List" headed by Mansour Abbas.
The poll also granted the "Jewish Power" party, headed by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, 9 seats, "Shas" 7 seats, the "Religious Zionism" and "Identity" alliance 5 seats, and "Yahadut HaTorah" 8 seats.
The "Amcha Yisrael" party, headed by former General Ofer Winter, exceeded the electoral threshold by obtaining 4 seats, after failing to exceed it in the previous poll.
In an indication of the ongoing electoral indecision, 30 percent of those polled said they had not yet decided which party they would vote for, while 21 percent said they were considering not participating in the elections.
Fifty-four percent supported a televised debate between Netanyahu and Eisenkot before the elections, including 38 percent of those who declared their intention to vote for the "Likud" party.
The results of opinion polls suggest that neither Netanyahu's camp nor the Jewish opposition will be able to form a government on its own in the elections scheduled for October 27.
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