Poll shows Eisenkot ahead of Netanyahu as new right-wing party reshapes Israeli race

The latest Channel 12 poll places former defense minister Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar! party at 25 Knesset seats, outpacing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud, projected at 21 seats. Ofer Winter’s newly created People of Israel party, a religious-nationalist group, is expected to win six seats, knocking the rival Religious Zionism party below the four-seat threshold. Together, the right-wing bloc—including Likud, Jewish Power, People of Israel and ultra-Orthodox parties—would hold 49 seats, while the Zionist opposition bloc would hold 59 and Arab parties 12.

Winter, a retired brigadier general who fought in Kibbutz Be’eri after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, says his party is a distinct part of the right-wing camp and opposes a Palestinian state. Analysts note the poll captures initial excitement for Winter’s entry but warn that personal rivalries, especially between Winter and Eisenkot, make coalition-building uncertain. Netanyahu is reportedly urging smaller right-wing factions to merge to avoid further weakening his camp ahead of the October 27 elections.