A new Channel 14 poll conducted today (Sunday) by NEXT DATA shows significant shifts in the electoral map nine days before voting for Israel’s 26th Knesset. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud holds steady at 29 seats, while Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party surges by two seats—from 20 to 22. Meanwhile, the right-wing bloc weakens by one seat to 61, down from 62 in last Wednesday’s poll. The biggest change at the top comes from Eisenkot’s party, which remains the second-largest and has now narrowed the gap with Likud from nine seats to just seven. By contrast, Naftali Bennett’s party—which jumped four seats in the previous poll to reach 11—now loses one seat and drops to ten.
1+Yair Golan’s Democrats hold steady at eight seats, as do Shas with ten, United Torah Judaism with eight, and Religious Zionism-Zehut with seven. Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit weakens by one seat, falling from eight to seven.
Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu gains one seat, rising from five to six, while the Joint List weakens from nine to seven seats. Ra’am strengthens by one seat, climbing from five to six.
Right-Wing Bloc Drops to 61 Seats
By bloc, the right wing receives 61 seats—down one from the previous poll. The left-wing bloc strengthens by two seats, rising from 44 to 46, while the Arab parties weaken by one seat, dropping from 14 to 13.
This leaves the right-wing bloc with a majority of just one seat in the Knesset, according to the current poll results. Small shifts in voting for parties near the electoral threshold could still affect the final distribution.
1+The suitability question also shows movement. When respondents were asked which of four figures is most suited to serve as prime minister, Netanyahu received 52%—exactly what he got in the previous poll. Eisenkot strengthens by one point, rising from 32% to 33%, while Bennett climbs from 11% to 12%. Liberman weakens from 5% to 3%.
The more significant shift appears in the direct head-to-head between Netanyahu and Eisenkot. In the previous poll, Netanyahu led 52% to 48%. Now the gap has narrowed to just two percentage points: 51% for Netanyahu versus 49% for Eisenkot.
Parties Below the Threshold
The Reservists-Economic party continues to weaken, dropping from 3.1% in the previous poll to just 2.4% now. That’s a further retreat from the 3.25% electoral threshold. Ofer Winter’s Amcha Yisrael also weakens slightly, from 2.7% to 2.4%, and remains outside the Knesset according to the poll. Benny Gantz’s Blue and White drops from 1.2% to 0.9%, Noam Yisrael remains at 0.8%, the Haredi Public party strengthens slightly from 0.4% to 0.5%, and Ahi—Back to Roots remains at 0.2%.
The poll was conducted by NEXT DATA with 559 adult participants from the general population and was carried out today, October 18, 2026. Data analysis: Shlomo Filber.