Days ahead of the deadline set by the Central Election Committee for political parties to present their slates ahead of the March 23 elections, a new poll shows that Likud has gained ground on its rivals.
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A poll by Channel 12 News found that, were elections held at this time, Likud would win 30 Knesset seats, followed by Yesh Atid (17), New Hope (14), Yamina (13), and the Joint Arab List (10).
Sephardi ultra-Orthodox party Shas would secure eight seats, as will Ashkenazi counterpart United Torah Judaism. Yisrael Beytenu would win seven seats, followed by Labor (5), Meretz (4) and Blue and White (4).
The smaller parties fail to cross the prerequisite four-Knesset-seat electoral threshold of 3.25% of the votes. These include the Economic, Religious Zionist, Israelis, Pensioners, Tnufa, Telem, and Gesher factions.
The far-right Otzma Yehudit party, which on Sunday announced it has joined forces with the radical ultra-Orthodox faction Noam, fails to enter parliament, as well.
The poll also explored whether a split in the Joint Arab List would affect its power.
Formed ahead of the 2015 general election, the Joint Arab List – an alliance comprising the Arab or mostly Arab parties Balad, Ra'am, Ta'al, and Hadash parties – has been plagued by internal strife since its inception, with the Hawkish Balad party clashing with its more moderate counterparts.
Disagreements reached new highest over the past few weeks over Ra'am head MK Mansour Abbas' rapprochement with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The move has placed Abbas on a collision course with other Joint Arab List members, and party insiders say a split seems inevitable.
The move, however, will not be in Ra'am's favor. According to Channel 12 News, should Mansour split from JAL, Ra'am will fall below the electoral threshold, while JAL would lose one Knesset seat, securing nine.
Over on the Left, a potential merger between Labor and the Israelis party could see the latter scrape by the electoral threshold, giving a joint ticket seven Knesset seats.
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