A Channel 13 television poll found that an opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar party would secure exactly the 61 Knesset seats needed for a governing majority, The Times of Israel reported, with Eisenkot's party projected to win 21 seats, just one behind Prime Minister Netanyahu's Likud at 22.
The survey put the rest of the opposition coalition at Naftali Bennett's Together with 15 seats, Yair Golan's Democrats with 11, Avigdor Liberman's Yisrael Beytenu with 10, and Yoaz Hendel's alliance with 4, for a combined bloc of 61. Netanyahu's own coalition came in at 50 seats in the same poll, with Arab parties holding the remaining 9. The poll's publisher did not disclose a sample size or margin of error.
The survey landed alongside two other developments reported the same week: coalition officials were said to have discussed restricting incoming flights around election day, reportedly out of concern that expatriate voters likely to oppose Netanyahu would arrive in time to cast ballots, and the Knesset's Constitution, Law and Justice Committee advanced a bill ending the requirement for polling booths in elderly care facilities, a change expected to affect 35,000 to 37,000 voters widely seen as leaning against the prime minister.