If elections were held in Israel today, the parties supporting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government would only garner 48 seats—far below the 60-seat majority needed to form a coalition, according to a new Channel 12 poll. Conversely, a bloc led by former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, comprising opposition parties including his newly registered party, would secure a commanding 72 seats. The poll indicates that without including Arab-majority parties Hadash Ta’al or Ra’am, the opposition bloc would still reach 62 seats, surpassing the threshold for forming a government. The timing of the poll comes amid political turbulence, notably after the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism (UTJ) faction, led by the spiritual head of Degel Hatorah, instructed their MKs to introduce legislation to dissolve the Knesset. This move was prompted by the coalition’s failure to pass a law exempting yeshiva students from military service. According to the poll, the two largest parties in the Knesset would be Bennett’s party with 24 seats and Likud led by Netanyahu with 22 seats. The remaining seats would be distributed as follows: Democratic Union 12, Shas 10, Yisrael Beytenu 10, Yesh Atid 9, Otzma Yehudit 8, UTJ 8, National Unity 7, Hadash-Ta’al 5, and Ra’am 5. The Religious Zionism and Balad parties would not cross the electoral threshold in this scenario. Regarding UTJ’s threats to dissolve the coalition over IDF conscription laws, the poll also queried public opinion on whether ultra-Orthodox parties should be part of future governments. Fifty-five percent of respondents said they would prefer they not be included, while 33% supported their participation, and 12% were undecided. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)