Voting surveys by Israel's three major news channels predicted yet another deadlocked election, which could cripple Israeli politics for months.
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Monday saw Prime Minister Naftali Bennett call for early elections, saying that the efforts to stabilize the increasingly erratic coalition – in power for only a year – have exhausted themselves.
A bill to dissolve the Knesset will be presented for a vote later on Wednesday. Once it passes, Bennett's rotation partner, Yesh Atid leader Foreign Minister Yair Lapid will become head of the interim government pending the elections, expected to take place on Oct. 25.
Polls by Kan 11 News, Channel 12 News and Channel 13 News all concluded that neither the Right or the Center-Left blocs could secure enough Knesset seats to form a government and that reaching the minimal 61-MK majority would require unique political ingenuity.
According to Kan 11 News, were elections held at this time Likud would win 36 Knesset seats, followed by Yesh Atid (21), Blue and White (9), Religious Zionist Party (8), Sephardi ultra-Orthodox party Shas (8), Ashkenazi Haredi party United Torah Judaism (7), Labor (6), the Joint Arab List (6), Yamina (5), Yisrael Beytenu (5), New Hope (4), and the Islamist Ra'am party (4).
Meretz fails to pass the four-seat electoral threshold.
Results on Channel 12 News were mostly similar: Likud (35), Yesh Atid (20), Blue and White (9), Religious Zionist Party (9), Shas (8), United Torah Judaism (7), Labor (6), Yisrael Beytenu (5), the Joint Arab List (5), Yamina (4), New Hope (4), Meretz (4), and Ra'am (4).
Channel 13 News gave Likud 35 seats, followed by Yesh Atid (22), Religious Zionist Party (9), Shas (8), Blue and White (7), UTJ (7), Joint Arab List (6), Yisrael Beytenu (5), Labor (5), Yamina (4), Meretz (4), New Hope (4), and Ra'am (4).
Pollsters interviewed on Israeli media on Tuesday said that a joint Yamina-New Hope slate, which is rumored to be discussed as both parties are struggling to pass the electoral threshold, could see the joint ticket become a third-largest party with a potential eight or nine Knesset seats.
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