For the first time, movements on the block map: Data from a new survey by Direct Polls, published this evening (Tuesday) on the i24 channel, indicates that for the first time in the institute's series of surveys, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is losing the majority of 61 required to form a government - with the coalition and the opposition standing on equal blocks of 60 seats.
In addition, the data indicates that the Change Bloc is marking a new leader - Gadi Eisenkot.
The survey shows that the Likud party leads the table with 30 seats, maintaining its position as the largest party in the Knesset. However, the coalition partners show a mixed trend: the Shas party receives 10 seats, United Torah Judaism with 8 seats, and Otzma Yehudit led by Itamar Ben-Gvir wins 8 seats.
The Religious Zionist Party, led by Bezalel Smotrich, barely scrapes the threshold with only 4 seats.
In total, the parties in the current coalition reach exactly 60 seats, a figure that does not allow for the formation of a government without additional partners.
i24NEWS Poll: For the first time - Netanyahu's bloc fails to form a government; and a new leader for the Change Bloc | Full data >>> https://t.co/9B68oEIU2d@NadavElimelech pic.twitter.com/85OKk6vk5U
— i24NEWS (@i24NEWS_HE) May 19, 2026
In the left bloc, the new and old parties create a clear blocking bloc of 60 seats.
Gadi Eisenkot's 'Yashar' party emerges as the surprise of the elections and positions itself as the second largest force with 17 seats. It is followed by the 'Behad' party, which collapses to 15 seats. The Democratic Party receives 9 seats, while Yisrael Beiteinu, led by Avigdor Lieberman, wins 8 seats.
Arab parties: Ra'am receives 6 seats and the Hadash-Ta'al list has 5 seats.
Four prominent parties do not pass the threshold in the current poll. The Balad party receives 1.81% of the vote, the Economic Party receives 1.71%, while the Milosevic and Blue and White parties crash and receive less than 1% of voter support.
The sample was collected and compiled by Direct Polls Ltd., headed by Tzuriel Sharon, for i24NEWS, on May 19, 2026, using a digital system combined with a panel, among 546 adult respondents (18+) who constitute a representative sample of the general population in Israel. The statistical sampling error is ±4.1% with a probability of 95%.
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