Israel elections: Large parties are losing their ground, poll finds

The Lapid bloc gained a seat and stands at 56, while Netanyahu's lost a seat and is at 58.

 Members of Knesset in the assembly hall of the Israeli parliament during a vote on expanding the number of ministers in the new forming Israeli government on May 13, 2015. (photo credit: HADAS PARUSH/FLASH90)
Members of Knesset in the assembly hall of the Israeli parliament during a vote on expanding the number of ministers in the new forming Israeli government on May 13, 2015.
(photo credit: HADAS PARUSH/FLASH90)

The two largest parties – Likud and Yesh Atid – lost ground to smaller parties within their blocs compared to a similar poll published last Friday, according to a new survey. The Likud won 31 seats versus last week’s 32, and Yesh Atid won 23 seats versus last week’s 25.

Meretz gained a seat after its primary election this past week but the Religious Zionist Party (RZP) lost a seat despite its primary.

Both Otzma Yehudit and Labor gained a seat, and Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked’s Zionist Spirit Party once again did not pass the electoral threshold, the poll found.

Yair Lapid’s bloc gained a seat and stands at 56, while Benjamin Netanyahu’s lost a seat and is at 58.

 Blue and White: The New Hope's election campaign is seen on billboards along Israeli highways on July 28, 2022 (credit: BLUE AND WHITE: THE NEW HOPE)
Blue and White: The New Hope's election campaign is seen on billboards along Israeli highways on July 28, 2022 (credit: BLUE AND WHITE: THE NEW HOPE)

Newest poll results

The full results were Likud 31, Yesh Atid 23, National Unity (Blue and White and New Hope merger) 13, Otzma Yehudit and Shas eight each, United Torah Judaism seven, Labor and Joint List six, Meretz and Yisrael Beytenu five, and RZP and Ra’am four.

Should Otzma Yehudit and RZP run together in a joint list with RZP chairman Bezalel Smotrich first on the slate – which is what was agreed to after the poll’s release – the party will receive 13 seats, one more than running separately, while the Likud would go down to 30.

Some 18.2% of voters were undecided.

The poll was conducted by Panel Politics, which is headed by Menachem Lazar. It included 715 participants with a reported margin of error of +/– 4.1%