Opposition bloc led by Eisenkot would win narrow 61-seat majority – poll

A television poll aired Wednesday showed that the bloc of opposition parties led by Gadi Eisenkot would win a 61-seat majority in Knesset and be able to form a government, the first major poll showing such a result in over a month, as election season heats up ahead of the October 27 polling date.

According to the Channel 13 survey, Eisenkot’s Yashar party would win 21 seats, second only to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud at 22 seats as the largest party.

The next three largest parties all belong to the anti-Netanyahu bloc, with the survey putting former prime minister Naftali Bennett’s centrist Together party at 15 seats, Yair Golan’s left-wing Democrats at 11, and Avigdor Liberman’s hawkish Yisrael Beytenu at 10.

Rounding out the opposition bloc, the Channel 13 poll gave former minister Yoaz Hendel’s new alliance with Chili Tropper four seats in Knesset, just clearing the threshold and giving the anti-Netanyahu movement a clear 61-seat majority and a mandate to form a government.

For Netanyahu’s bloc, the survey gave ultra-Orthodox parties United Torah Judaism and Shas eight and seven seats, respectively.

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Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit would also win seven seats, the poll showed. Fellow far-right Finance Minister’s Religious Zionism party would get six.

Arab parties Hadash-Ta’al and Ra’am would win five and four seats, respectively. Balad, a far-left Arab party, would fail to get enough votes to enter the Knesset, as would Benny Gantz’s Blue and White.

The network did not provide a sample size or margin of error for its poll.

Coalition reportedly looking to limit incoming flights ahead of elections

With parties jockeying for support ahead of the elections, the current coalition is reportedly working on a number of measures to help itself out at the polls, including limiting flights from abroad and ending the placement of ballots in assisted-living facilities.

According to a Wednesday report by the Haaretz newspaper, citing a source closely familiar with the matter, senior officials in Likud Transportation Minister Miri Regev’s office are reportedly discussing ways to limit the number of flights coming into Ben Gurion Airport in the days right before the election in order to thwart the arrival of voters for parties opposed to Netanyahu.

Ideas discussed have included blocking charter flights during that time period, or at least limiting the number of flights allowed into the country, two senior sources said.

There are several initiatives working to help fly Israelis in from abroad for the election. The initiatives are ostensibly nonpartisan, but Regev’s associates believe that those who would seek to take advantage of the opportunity are overwhelmingly opposed to Netanyahu and could number in the tens of thousands.

Additionally, the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee on Wednesday voted to end the placement of polling booths in elderly living facilities, a move the opposition denounced as naked partisan politics.

The measure would affect between 35,000 and 37,000 people – about one Knesset seat’s worth — in an elderly demographic that largely votes against Netanyahu. It would only apply to retirement or assisted-living facilities – not nursing homes, where mobile booths have long been stationed like those in hospitals.

“This is a jarring final note for this Knesset term. For years, election laws were passed with broad agreement. Unfortunately, we are forced to vote against this bill because you refused to ensure accessible and fair elections for every citizen,” said Yesh Atid MK and committee member Karine Elharrar.