The Likud leadership election is behind us, Netanyahu has strengthened his position at the head of the party, but Blue and White continues to lead in the opinion polls, with 34 projected Knesset seats versus 32 seats for Likud, according to a poll released by Channel 12 News yesterday evening. The poll shows the Joint Arab List next, with thirteen seats, Shas and Yisrael Beitenu on eight seats each, United Torah Judaism on seven, New Right and Labor-Gesher on five seats each, and Democratic Union and the Union of Right Wing Parties (Habayit Hayehudi, National Union, and Otzma Yehudit) on four seats each.
In the previous poll by Channel 12 News, Habayit Hayehudi and Otzma Yehudit failed to pass the minimum vote threshold by themselves, but running together they are stronger. Likud remains at the same level, but Blue and White has declined slightly from the 35 Knesset seats projected for it previously.
Israel is due to hold its third general election within a year on March 2, but the political stalemate does not look as though it will be resolved.
An average of five recent polls gives the following numbers of seats for each party or grouping:
Blue and White 35
Likud 32
Joint Arab List 13
Yisrael Beitenu 8
Shas 8
United Torah Judaism 7
New Right 5
Labor-Gesher 5
Democratic Union 4
The total may not be 120, the actual number of Knesset seats, because there are parties that pass the minimum vote threshold in some polls but not in others.
The average is of the following polls:
Channel 12 News, December 29
Ma'ariv and FM 103, December 20
Kan, December 15
Yisrael Hayom, December 13
Ma'ariv, December 13.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on December 30, 2019
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