In First Poll Since Oct. 7, Netanyahu Bloc Would Win Majority

(Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)

A tracking poll in Israel shows that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition would win outright majority in the next elections, a first since the Oct. 7 invasion by Hamas terrorists, the Jewish News Syndicate reported Monday.

According to the Channel 14 poll conducted by Direct Polls, Netanyahu’s Likud Party would receive 31 Knesset seats, and Bibi’s right-religious bloc leads the Lapid-Gantz center-left bloc 61-49 seats in the 120-seat assembly, according to JNS.

In a head-to-head, Netanyahu leads Benny Gantz 52% to 25% and opposition leader Yair Lapid 54% to 24%, according to JNS.

The boost comes in the aftermath of Israel eliminating Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in a bomb strike in Lebanon, on Friday. Netanyahu’s climbing approval also comes weeks after taking out Hamas terrorist leader Ismail Haniyeh.

However, a competing Channel 12 poll showed that while Netanyahu’s approval ratings were on the incline, his coalition would fall short of a Knesset majority. That poll shows the Likud party gaining 25 seats, but Bibi’s coalition would have 49 seats in all compared to the opposition parties with 66, according to Haaretz.

Both polls were conducted before Netanyahu brought former ally-turned-rival Gideon Saar and his four Knesset members of the United Right Party into his coalition government.

The next Israeli election must be held by Oct. 27, 2026, unless early elections are called in the event Netanyahu’s government falls.