Jakarta:Israel's Jewish opposition needs backing from Arab lawmakers to form a government alternative to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's administration. However, a majority of Israelis are against Arab parties joining the next government, as indicated by a recent poll.
According to Anadolu Agency, the poll reveals that neither Netanyahu's bloc nor the Jewish opposition can independently form a government in the upcoming election, scheduled for 17 days from now. This deadlock might result in another election in several months, a scenario Netanyahu might prefer if he cannot establish a government.
The poll, published by the Israeli newspaper Maariv, forecasts that both Netanyahu's bloc and the Jewish opposition would secure 52 seats each in the 120-member Knesset if elections were held today. Arab parties are expected to win 12 seats, while the Reserve Party, led by Yoaz Hendel, would gain four seats without committing to support any bloc.
A minimum of 61 lawmakers is required to support a government in the 120-seat Knesset. Most Jewish opposition leaders have dismissed the idea of forming a government with Arab lawmakers' support to replace Netanyahu.
The poll details that Netanyahu's 52-seat bloc would include his Likud party with 20 seats, Itamar Ben-Gvir's Jewish Power with eight, United Torah Judaism and Shas with seven each, Bezalel Smotrich's Religious Zionism with six, and Ofer Winter's Amcha Israel with four. The Jewish opposition's 52 seats would be distributed among Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar party with 21, Naftali Bennett's Together party with 13, Yair Golan's Democrats with nine, and Avigdor Liberman's Yisrael Beiteinu with nine.
Arab parties would win 12 seats, with the Joint List led by Yusuf Jabareen securing seven and Mansour Abbas' United Arab List taking five. Hendel's Reserve Party would take four seats without declaring support for either bloc.
Despite potential support from Arab parties enabling the Jewish opposition to form a government, the poll found that 59% of Israelis oppose an Arab party's involvement in the government after the election, with 36% supporting it and 5% undecided.
In direct preference for prime minister, 46% favored former Israeli army chief Gadi Eisenkot over Netanyahu, who received 40%, while 14% were uncertain. In a field of multiple candidates, Netanyahu received 38%, Eisenkot 24%, and Bennett 14%, with all other candidates polling less than 10% each.
The poll was conducted by the private Lazar Research Institute among a sample of 700 Israelis, with a margin of error of 3.7 percentage points.