The Media Line: Eisenkot Surpasses Netanyahu as Preferred Prime Minister in New Poll  

Eisenkot Surpasses Netanyahu as Preferred Prime Minister in New Poll  

By The Media Line Staff  

Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar! party continued to gain ground in a new Channel 12 News poll, while the former Israel Defense Forces (IDF) chief of staff overtook Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the candidate viewed by respondents as most suitable to serve as prime minister.  

Eisenkot’s gains were also reflected in the survey’s question regarding suitability for prime minister. In a direct comparison with Netanyahu, Eisenkot received 38% support, compared with 35% for the prime minister.  

In other matchups, Netanyahu led Bennett by 38% to 31% and held a 36% to 24% advantage over Avigdor Liberman.  

Among opposition voters, Eisenkot was preferred over Bennett by a margin of 46% to 39%. Another eight percent said they preferred someone else, while seven percent said they did not know.  

The survey found that if elections were held today, Likud would remain Israel’s largest party with 23 Knesset seats, unchanged from the previous poll. Naftali Bennett’s Together party fell by one seat to 21.  

Yashar!, led by Eisenkot, rose by two seats and would receive 19 mandates, according to the poll. The Democrats, led by Yair Golan, held 10 seats. Shas and Yisrael Beiteinu each received nine seats, followed by Otzma Yehudit with eight and United Torah Judaism with seven.  

Among Arab parties, Hadash-Ta’al and Ra’am each received five seats. Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionism party remained above the electoral threshold with four seats.  

Benny Gantz’s Blue and White party, Yoaz Hendel’s Reservists party, and Sami Abu Shehadeh’s Balad party all remained below the threshold.  

The poll showed the balance between the blocs unchanged from the previous survey. Opposition parties, including the Arab parties, would control 69 seats, while coalition parties would hold 51.  

The survey also examined public attitudes toward appointing Michael Rabello, Prime Minister Netanyahu’s attorney, as state comptroller. Forty-five percent opposed the appointment, while 18% supported it.  

When asked about concerns regarding election integrity, 57% said they were generally concerned, and 35% said they were generally not concerned.  

Among opposition voters, 53% supported a joint electoral list between Bennett and Eisenkot, while 33% opposed the idea and 14% were undecided.