Eisenkot overtakes Bennett for opposition leadership as Lapid ends last in latest poll

Lead

A new poll conducted by Maariv and published on Monday shows former military chief Gadi Eisenkot leading the race for Israel's opposition leadership, with support from 27% of respondents. Naftali Bennett follows with 16%, while current opposition leader Yair Lapid trails at just 6%, according to the survey.

Coverage Comparison

The poll, conducted about a week into the ceasefire with Iran and before the ceasefire with Lebanon was declared, suggests that recent developments in the regional fighting have not materially changed the political map. Two reports by the Jerusalem Post, citing the Maariv survey, both noted that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition remains at 49 seats, while the opposition bloc holds a stable 61-seat majority for a third consecutive week.

The survey also pointed to shifts within individual parties. Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar! party lost one seat to the Democrats, according to both reports. Likud has declined from 27 seats at the start of the Iran war on February 28 to 25, where it has now remained for three consecutive weeks, the reports said. Bennett 2026, which began the war with 21 seats, has stabilized at 24 over the past two weeks.

Key Claims

• Opposition leadership race: In the Maariv survey, Eisenkot received 27% support, Bennett 16%, and Lapid only 6%, as reported by the Jerusalem Post. Mansour Abbas placed third with 10%, while Benny Gantz received 8%, Yair Golan 7%, and Avigdor Liberman also in single digits. Nineteen percent of respondents said they would not choose any of the listed candidates.
• Bloc strength: Netanyahu's coalition holds 49 seats while the opposition has 61, according to the Maariv poll, marking the third consecutive week of this configuration.
• Party seat allocations: In a hypothetical election with the current party lineup, Likud would receive 25 seats (unchanged), Bennett 2026 24 (unchanged), Yashar! 12 (down from 13), Shas and Yisrael Beytenu 9 each (unchanged), Democrats 9 (up from 8), Otzma Yehudit 8 (unchanged), Yesh Atid and United Torah Judaism 6 each, and the remaining small parties, the reports said.
• Prime ministerial suitability: Forty-three percent of respondents said Netanyahu is more suited to be prime minister, while 41% chose Bennett. In a matchup against Eisenkot, Netanyahu led 45% to 38%, according to the poll.
• Supreme Court intervention: Forty-six percent of respondents said Supreme Court intervention in the appointment or dismissal of government ministers would be inappropriate, the Jerusalem Post reported.
• Iran conflict outlook: Separately, the poll asked about the likelihood of renewed conflict with Iran; 62% of respondents expressed belief that Israel would return to fighting Iran in the near future, a claim reported by a single source.

Perspectives

The poll data suggests that while Netanyahu remains the most preferred candidate for prime minister in head-to-head matchups, his party's standing has slipped during the war. The opposition's lead, however, is not attributable to a surge in any single opposition party but rather a gradual realignment. Bennet's party has stabilized after gaining ground earlier, while Eisenkot's rise in the opposition leadership question reflects his growing public profile.

The survey was conducted while a ceasefire with Iran was in its early days and before a ceasefire with Lebanon was announced, according to the Jerusalem Post. Observers noted that no significant movement between blocs resulted from these regional developments.

The Jerusalem Post's reporting does not disclose the poll's sample size, margin of error, or the exact dates of the survey, though both articles were published within a week of each other, suggesting the poll was conducted around mid-April 2026.