Former IDF chief Eisenkot leads Prime Minister Netanyahu in poll — Anadolu Agency

In Israel, former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot is ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in respondents’ assessment of who is better suited for the position of head of government. According to a Channel 12 poll, 45% of respondents consider Eisenkot the more suitable candidate for prime minister, while 33% consider Netanyahu better suited.

The gap widened to 12 points

As Anadolu Agency reports, Eisenkot’s lead stands at 12 percentage points, compared with 10 points in the previous poll. The survey was published eight days before Israel’s parliamentary elections, scheduled for October 27.

The poll projects 24 seats in the 120-seat Knesset for Eisenkot’s Yashar party. Netanyahu’s Likud party could win 21 seats, according to the survey.

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Distribution of party support

Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s Together party could receive 14 seats. Yair Golan’s Democrats and the Arab Joint List are projected to win nine seats each. Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu, the ultra-Orthodox Shas, and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Jewish Power party are each projected to receive eight seats.

Jewish parties opposed to Netanyahu could jointly win 55 seats, two more than in the previous survey. The governing coalition is projected to receive 51 seats. Two Arab parties could win another 14 seats, but their participation in a future coalition remains uncertain.

In a separate question, Bennett also outperformed Netanyahu in suitability for the post of prime minister: 39% of respondents chose the former head of government, 34% chose Netanyahu, and 22% considered neither of them suitable. The support for Netanyahu expressed by US President Donald Trump will not affect the choice of 64% of respondents. Another 17% said this made them less inclined to support Likud, while 12% said Trump’s support strengthened their backing for Netanyahu’s party.