If Otzma Yehudit chairman Itamar Ben-Gvir would head the Religious Zionism Party, it would soar to 13 seats in the upcoming election, a poll published by Channel 13 News on Sunday night shows. Previous polls in past weeks show the party receiving 9-10 seats if headed by current Religious Zionism chairman Betzalel Smotrich. According to the poll, the Likud would receive 32 seats, compared to 35-36 in recent polls, Shas would receive 8 seats, and UTJ – 7 seats. The entire right-wing bloc would reach 60 seats – one short of a majority. On the other side of the political map, Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party would receive 22 seats, the Blue & White/New Hope union would receive 11 seats, Labor – 7,  and Yisrael Beiteinu – 6. The Arab Joint List would receive 6 seats, Meretz and the Islamist Ra’am party would each receive 4 seats, and Yamina will not pass the electoral threshold. Which candidate do voters believe is better suited for the position of prime minister – Binyamin Netanyahu or Yair Lapid? According to the poll, Netanyahu leads with 45%, 32% support Lapid, 15% say neither are suitable, and 7% don’t know. When asked about Netanyahu versus Benny Gantz for the position of prime minister, the gap is more significant, with 46% supporting Netanyahu compared to only 29% for Gantz. In this scenario, 16% say neither are suitable, and 8% don’t know. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

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