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Poll projects Eisenkot’s Yashar leading 61-seat opposition majority

9/8/2026

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Summary

Story summary

Poll shows former army chief Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party could lead a 61-seat opposition majority.
The poll gives Yashar 25 seats, ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud with 21 seats.
Reservists-Economic Party could add four seats, raising opposition to 61 seats without Arab parties.
Netanyahu urges right-wing parties to merge before Tuesday’s candidate-list deadline to avoid vote splitting.

History

Historical Context

Israel’s 1977 ‘Mahapach’—the 17 May election where Likud won 43 Knesset seats, ending nearly three decades of Labor-Alignment rule—showed how a cohesive opposition can overturn a long-standing government. A similar swing occurred in 1992 when Yitzhak Rabin formed a Labor coalition after right-wing fragmentation. Today’s poll, projecting Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party at 25 seats, echoes that historic pattern.

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Story summary

Poll shows former army chief Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party could lead a 61-seat opposition majority.
The poll gives Yashar 25 seats, ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud with 21 seats.
Reservists-Economic Party could add four seats, raising opposition to 61 seats without Arab parties.
Netanyahu urges right-wing parties to merge before Tuesday’s candidate-list deadline to avoid vote splitting.

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