Knesset polls: Likud slightly down, settler parties gaining momentum

Noam Sheizaf By Noam Sheizaf December 19, 2012 | Edit

Two new election polls came out yesterday, both telling roughly the same story: the Likud-Beitenu party is losing some voters to the National Religious Party and to Otzma Le’Israel, an extreme faction led by former Kahane man Michael Ben-Ari. Both parties are identified with the settler movement (though settlers are well represented in Likud as well).

According to the last poll, the National Religious Party (Habayit Hayehudi) will be the Knesset’s third largest party following the elections. NRP has enjoyed new momentum since electing Naftali Bennet as its leader. Bennet, former chief of staff for Netanyahu, has launched a successful viral campaign urging Israel to annex Area C, consisting of 60 percent of the occupied West Bank.

The gap between the blocs remains very stable, and Netanyahu’s right-Orthodox bloc leads the center-left one 65-54 in our poll average. So there is no movement of voters in or from Netanyahu’s bloc, but within his coalition there is a clear trend towards the right, which could explain some of the recent extreme statements made by government officials, and Netanyahu’s announcements of new housing projects in the West Bank.

This graph shows the support for Likud vs. the support for the National Religious Party and Otzma Le’Israel since the unification of Likud with Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beitenu. There are ups and downs for both parties, but the general trend is clear.

Knesset polls: Likud slightly down, settler parties gaining momentum

Click here for +972’s Knesset Poll Tracker.

Noam Sheizaf

Noam Sheizaf is an independent journalist and editor. He was the founding executive director and editor-in-chief of +972 Magazine. Prior to joining +972, he worked for Tel Aviv’s Ha-ir local paper, Ynet, and the Maariv daily, where his last position was deputy editor of the weekend magazine. He is currently working on a number of documentary films.

End of article module for Members

TEST TEST GAL Our team has been devastated by the horrific events of this latest war. The world is reeling from Israel’s unprecedented onslaught on Gaza, inflicting mass devastation and death upon besieged Palestinians, as well as the atrocious attack and kidnappings by Hamas in Israel on October 7. Our hearts are with all the people and communities facing this violence.    We are in an extraordinarily dangerous era in Israel-Palestine. The bloodshed has reached extreme levels of brutality and threatens to engulf the entire region. Emboldened settlers in the West Bank, backed by the army, are seizing the opportunity to intensify their attacks on Palestinians. The most far-right government in Israel’s history is ramping up its policing of dissent, using the cover of war to silence Palestinian citizens and left-wing Jews who object to its policies.   This escalation has a very clear context, one that +972 has spent the past 14 years covering: Israeli society’s growing racism and militarism, entrenched occupation and apartheid, and a normalized siege on Gaza.   We are well positioned to cover this perilous moment – but we need your help to do it. This terrible period will challenge the humanity of all of those working for a better future in this land. Palestinians and Israelis are already organizing and strategizing to put up the fight of their lives.   Can we count on your support? +972 Magazine is a leading media voice of this movement, a desperately needed platform where Palestinian and Israeli journalists, activists, and thinkers can report on and analyze what is happening, guided by humanism, equality, and justice. Join us.

Make a Donation