Eisenkot leads Netanyahu 48-40% in Israeli premier preference poll
16:03, 18/09/2026, FridayU: Update: 16:17, 18/09/2026, Friday
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Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot
A survey published Friday by the Israeli daily Maariv showed that 48% of Israelis would prefer Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot as prime minister over incumbent Benjamin Netanyahu, who received 40% support if elections were held now, while the opposition bloc was projected to secure 54 Knesset seats against 50 for the governing coalition.
Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot would be preferred as prime minister by 48% of Israelis compared with 40% for incumbent Benjamin Netanyahu if Knesset elections were held now, according to a poll published Friday by the Israeli daily Maariv. The survey was conducted by Lazar Research and Panel4All on Sept. 16-17 among 4,089 respondents, with a maximum margin of error of 4 percentage points.
Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett also led Netanyahu by 44% to 41% in a direct matchup, while Netanyahu led Avigdor Lieberman by 42% to 38%, the results showed. Netanyahu's governing coalition would secure 50 seats if elections were held now, compared with 54 seats for the opposition bloc, while Arab parties would win 12 seats and the Reservists-Economic party would receive four.
Parliamentary Projections
Eisenkot's Yashar party remained the largest party in the poll with 23 seats, while Netanyahu's Likud was projected to win 18 and Bennett's Together party came third with 13 seats. The Democrats, led by Yair Golan, received nine seats, the same number as Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu, while the Jewish Power party led by National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir was projected to win eight seats, the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism and Shas parties received seven seats each, and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's Religious Zionism party was projected to win six.
The Reservists-Economic party and Ofer Winter's Your People Israel party received four seats each, with Arab parties projected to win 12 seats total — seven for the Joint Arab List and five for Mansour Abbas' United Arab List. The poll indicated that 38 lists had registered to contest the upcoming Knesset elections scheduled for Oct. 27, with 13 projected to cross the electoral threshold and enter the 120-seat parliament.
Legal and Political Backdrop
Netanyahu has headed the current government since late December 2022. He is facing corruption charges, while the International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant against him over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip.