Full Breakdown
New Party May Tilt Israel’s Election Balance, Poll Shows
9/7/2026, 6:32:58 AM
Poll Highlights Potential Knesset Shift
A KAN News poll released on September 6, 2026 by the Kantar Institute found that Yoaz Hendel of the Unity Party and Professor Yaron Zelekha, head of the New Economic Party, would together clear the electoral threshold and win four seats. Their joint list, Zionist Home-The Reservists, has historically polled below the threshold, but the survey projects the Netanyahu bloc at 56 seats and the Eisenkot bloc at 55 seats, each still short of the 61 seats needed for a governing majority. The poll also shows Likud at 20 seats, Yashar (led by Gadi Eisenkot) at 23, and B’Yachad (Naftali Bennett) at 13, with several smaller parties losing one seat each and Ra’am and the Religious Zionist Party each rising to six seats.
Deadline for Candidate Lists
Tuesday, September 8 is the final deadline for political parties to submit their official candidate lists for the upcoming national elections. Parties must file by this date to be eligible to appear on the ballot.
Public Rating of Netanyahu’s Conduct on October 7
Respondents were asked to evaluate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s conduct on the morning of October 7, a date referenced in a KAN News report that he spoke with the IDF chief of staff three hours after the Hamas attack began. The same poll reported that 62 % of participants gave Netanyahu a “not good” rating for that morning, while 26 % rated his conduct as “good.” The survey reached 2,450 invited adults, of whom 551 responded, and carries a margin of error of ±4.2 %.
Implications for Coalition Building
If Hendel and Zelekha’s party enters the Knesset as projected, neither the Netanyahu bloc nor the Eisenkot bloc would command a majority on their own, likely forcing both sides to seek additional coalition partners. The poll’s indication that Eisenkot is viewed as more suitable for prime minister by 38 % of respondents, compared with 35 % for Netanyahu, suggests a potential shift in leadership preferences that could influence post-election negotiations.
