Surprising poll: Ofer Winter achieves success, Religious Zionism on the brink
A new i24NEWS poll reveals shifts in the Israeli political map: Likud remains the largest party, while Bezalel Smotrich's party is barely scraping above the electoral threshold.
The i24NEWS poll published on Wednesday and conducted by the 'Direct Polls' research institute led by Tzuriel Sharon presents a complex political situation. At the center of the data is a significant achievement for the Likud party, which remains the largest party with 26 mandates, followed by the 'Yashar' party with 23 mandates.
A prominent figure on the political map is the achievement of Ofer Winter's 'Amcha Yisrael' party, which establishes its power as a key factor with 8 mandates. This is equal to the support for the 'Yachad' party (Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid), 'Yisrael Beiteinu' (Avigdor Lieberman), and 'United Torah Judaism', which also receive 8 mandates each.
Meanwhile, Yair Golan's 'The Democrats' party records 10 mandates, while 'Shas' stands at 7 mandates. 'Otzma Yehudit' (Itamar Ben Gvir), 'Ra'am', and the 'Joint List' receive 6 mandates each. The list of parties passing the threshold is closed by Bezalel Smotrich's 'Religious Zionism', which is barely scraping the electoral threshold with only 4 mandates.
An analysis of the distribution of power shows that the traditional blocs are struggling to reach a clear majority of 61 mandates without complex coalitions, placing the medium-sized parties at the center of the political arena. A series of parties remain outside the parliamentary map, including 'Zehut' (1.3%) and the 'Economic Party' (1.1%). Other parties, including 'Blue and White' (Benny Gantz), remained below the 1% threshold.
The poll was conducted on August 26, 2026, among a representative sample of 532 adult respondents, with a margin of error of 4.2%.
