&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar overtakes Netanyahu’s Likud in latest Israel poll")
Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party has leapt ahead of Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud to become the largest political force in Israel, according to a recent poll conducted by KAN News. The poll conducted by the Kantar Institute on August 18 places Yashar at 24 seats, just ahead of Likud in second place with 23 seats, followed by Naftali Bennett's B'Yachad party in third with 14 seats.
The Democrats led by Yair Golan were polling at 10 seats; Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit and Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beytenu were each projected to win nine. While Shas is consistently securing 7 seats across major polls. They are closely followed by the Arab-majority joint list Hadash-Ta'al, which captures 5 to 6 seats. Islamist Ra'am party and Bezalel Smotrich’s far-right Religious Zionism party are locked into place with a guaranteed 5 seats each.
The overall bloc projections put the opposition at 57 seats and Netanyahu's coalition at 52 seats, while the Arab parties are likely to retain a combined 11 seats, maintaining the broader political gridlock over the Knesset's majority of 61.
Controversial Likud primaries
The poll comes just days after Likud members voted in their party's primaries to select candidates for the October 27 general election. The turnout reached 53 per cent, about 10 per centage higher than in the 2022 primaries, according to the party. In April, the Likud Central Committee approved a controversial measure that grants Netanyahu the authority to determine eight of the first 30 slots on the party list. He controls positions 3, 5, 9, 11, 15, 18, 26, and 29 on the slate and occupies the absolute No 1 spot as party leader. He will bypass the party's democratic voting process and handpick candidates to maintain absolute control.
Trending Stories
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
National Handloom Day 2026: From Alia Bhatt to Samantha Ruth Prabhu; Actresses who celebrated India's textile heritage as brides
)
The Royals enter the Doctor Who universe: King Charles and Queen Camilla beam into Commonwealth Games in TARDIS
)
Unitree Robotics targets $9 billion valuation in landmark IPO backed by DeepSeek and Tencent
)
India names 27 sites in Arunachal Pradesh
)
Bharat Bhhagya Viddhaata OTT: When will Kangana Ranaut's film stream online?
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
How many soldiers operate one S-400 battery?
)
Shakib Al Hasan ready to return to Bangladesh—under one condition
)
‘Fake news’: MEA rejects report claiming India sought defence pact with Israel after Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey deal
)
Rockstar to unveil GTA 6 extended look ahead of November launch
)
Russia forms Ukrainian Volunteer Spetsnaz Brigade to fight Ukraine
)
Drug-resistant fungus that hides in hair and enters bloodstream reported in 23 US states
)
Technology transfer deal boosts India's defence manufacturing ambitions
)
Border row erupts in Europe after Ceuta crossings, Spain imposes border controls on Italy
)
Morale plummets on USS Abraham Lincoln: Are US sailors reaching a breaking point? | GRAVITAS
)
'Security can't be bought with Pakistan, Turkey deal': Iran tells Saudi Arabia
)
Baba Vanga's 2026 prophecy: 2 predictions 'already came true', 3 terrifying ones remain. Details inside
)
Colombia’s new president Abelardo de la Espriella vows to ‘defeat narco-terrorists’, signals hardline shift
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
New Friday OTT releases (August 7, 2026): Operation Safed Sagar, Vadhandhi, Main Vaapis Aaunga- 6 movies and TV shows on Netflix, Prime Video and more
)
Squadron Leader Bhawana Kanth scripts history as Indian Air Force gets its first woman ‘Top Gun’ pilot
)
RSS says Gen Z protests reflect genuine distress
)
Trump says Iranian school bombing photos could be AI-generated - 'I don’t think...'
)
IAF officer held for sharing sensitive information in 'honey trap' case, booked under Official Secrets Act
)
Stray Kids under scrutiny? Fans react to Grammy submission silence after BTS boycott
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
Why the Su-30MKI doesn't need external fuel tanks to fly vast distances
)
Jugal Hansraj reunites with Shekhar Kapur after 40 years for Masoom: The Next Generation
)
New speed limits, automatic challans: Big traffic change coming to Delhi-Meerut Expressway. All you need to know
)
India officially names 27 places in Arunachal to counter China's renaming claims
)
Trump calls White House ballroom ruling a 'national disgrace' as court says Congress approval needed
)
US sanctions Iran’s crypto network after Strait of Hormuz attacks, offers $15m bounty for intel on IRGC finance
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
Why the Su-30MKI is one of the heaviest fighters ever built
)
Uttarakhand young innovator builds India's own flying vehicle, conducts first test flight: WATCH
)
Chilling video shows students take cover as teen opens fire at Thai school
)
Reese Witherspoon's father hospitalised after poolside incident in Nashville: Report
Energy Minister Eli Cohen secured the top spot on Likud's Knesset slate, followed by Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, Transportation Minister Miri Regev, and coalition chairman Ofir Katz, respectively, from second to fifth.
When combined with the uncontested, pre-arranged deals for figures like Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar and Defence Minister Israel Katz, Netanyahu effectively controlled nearly a third of the party's realistic slate. These are premier spaces in the slate's safest positions on the electoral list, specifically slots 1 through 15, where a candidate is 100 per cent guaranteed to get elected to the Knesset.
