Bennett bloc dominates as Netanyahu’s coalition loses ground

According to the polling, in a scenario where a party led by Bennett runs in the elections, the Bennet-led opposition bloc would secure a majority of 66 seats.

By MOSHE COHEN JANUARY 31, 2025 08:06

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in a press conference on January 11, 2022 (photo credit: NOAM RIVKIN-PANTON/FLASH90)

A Naftali Bennet-led bloc of parties continues to dominate the polls as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition weakens by two seats, according to Friday morning’s weekly Maariv survey findings.

The polling, which was conducted by Lazar Research in collaboration with Panel4All and led by Dr. Menachem Lazar, comes amid continued progress in the hostage deal and the return of hundreds of thousands of Gazans to northern Gaza.

According to the polling, in a scenario where a party led by Bennett runs in the elections, the Bennet-led opposition bloc would secure a majority of 66 seats, while Netanyahu’s bloc would receive 44 seats.

The Bennett bloc earned 67 seats in the previous week’s survey, while Netanyahu’s bloc earned 43.

The survey further indicated that the opposition bloc would perform well in elections even without Bennett leading a party at its head.

Former prime minister Naftali Bennett seen in an illustrative (credit: FLASH90)

In this week’s polling, the coalition bloc held 49 seats, while the opposition bloc, without the Arab parties, had 61. The Arab parties collectively received 10 seats.

Amid progress in the hostage deal, many in the public are optimistic about its completion. 

In response To the question: “Do you believe that the hostage deal will be fully completed?” The answers were: Yes 36% (28% in the previous survey), No 36% (39%), and Don't know 28%.

In response to the question: “In light of the return of the Gazans to the northern Gaza Strip, can it be said that the war is over?” The answers were: Yes 31%, No 57%, Don't know 12%.

In response to the question: “What does the return of the Gazans to the northern Gaza Strip teach us about the extent to which Israel achieved the goals of the war?” only 4% believed that the goals of the war were fully achieved. 

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Another 57% believed that the war's goals were not fully achieved, 32% responded that they were not achieved at all, and 7% of respondents said they did not know.

Trust in the Supreme Court

Survey respondents were also asked: “How much trust do you have in the Supreme Court, after the election of Judge Yitzhak Amit as president despite the opposition of Justice Minister Yariv Levin?”

In response, 32% said they had no trust at all,19% said they had very little trust,15% said they had a fair amount of trust, 18% said they had a great deal of trust, and 16% said they did not know.

The results indicate that nearly half of the public has little or no trust in the Supreme Court.

Regarding the ultimatum posed by the ultra-Orthodox parties to Netanyahu, polling participants selected whether they preferred an IDF conscription law or for elections to be held.

Some 30% preferred a conscription law, 57% wanted elections, and 13% did not know.

The poll, most of which was conducted before the hostages were returned on Thursday, was carried out between January 29-30 with 517 respondents, representing a sample of Israel’s adult population aged 18 and older, both Jewish and Arab. The maximum margin of error was 4.4%.