Tel Aviv:Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has fallen further behind former Army Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot in a new opinion poll, which shows Eisenkot widening his lead in public perception as the preferred candidate for prime minister.

According to Anadolu Agency, the Channel 12 survey revealed that 45% of respondents consider Eisenkot better suited for the role of prime minister, compared to 33% for Netanyahu. This expands Eisenkot's lead to 12 percentage points, up from 10 points in a previous poll.

The poll results are released just eight days before Israel's October 27 parliamentary elections, predicting Eisenkot's Yashar party will emerge as the largest in the 120-seat Knesset, with a projected 24 seats. Netanyahu's Likud party is expected to follow with 21 seats.

Naftali Bennett's Together party is projected to win 14 seats, while Yair Golan's Democrats and the Arab-led Joint List are each expected to secure nine seats. Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu, the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir's Jewish Power party are each projected to win eight seats.

The survey indicates that Jewish-led parties opposing Netanyahu could secure 55 seats, an increase of two from the previous poll, compared to 51 seats for his governing coalition. The two Arab parties are expected to gain an additional 14 seats, bringing the total for parties outside Netanyahu's bloc to 69, though their participation in a future governing coalition remains uncertain.

In another aspect of the poll, former Prime Minister Bennett also leads Netanyahu in terms of suitability for the prime minister role, with 39% of respondents favoring Bennett over 34% for Netanyahu. Meanwhile, 22% of respondents feel neither candidate is suitable.

The survey also assessed the impact of US President Donald Trump's endorsement of Netanyahu. About 64% of respondents indicated that Trump's endorsement would not influence their vote, while 17% said it made them less likely to support Likud. Only 12% stated that the endorsement increased their support for Netanyahu's party. Trump's endorsement, made public on Sunday, highlighted Netanyahu's leadership and collaboration with Washington, particularly in addressing challenges with Iran.