Election Poll: Netanyahu Bloc Stronger With Kahanists, Still Needs Lieberman

Benny Gantz with 33 seats leads Netanyahu with 31. Right-wing bloc with 59 seats to the center-left’s 54, with prospective kingmaker Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu down to seven seats

Sep 13, 2019

Kahol Lavan is set to be the largest party in the Knesset after next week’s election, according to a poll released Thursday by the Kan public broadcaster. The poll gives the party led by Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid 33 seats, compared to 31 for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud. (For the latest election polls – click here)

The poll also contains good news for Netanyahu – it has the far-right Otzma Yehudit party passing the electoral threshold and receiving four seats, giving the right-wing bloc led by Likud 59 seats without the support of Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu – close to the 61 required to create a coalition, with the center-left bloc garnering 54 seats.

It was Yisrael Beiteinu’s refusal to endorse Netanyahu after April’s election that led to his failure to build a coalition, leading to the calling of a new election.

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