Maariv pollster analyzes election race, Likud challenges, and threshold battles

Maariv pollster Dr. Menachem Lazar analyzed the latest election poll, highlighting several parties in the "danger zone" near the electoral threshold, including Am Yisrael, the Reservists and Economic Party, and Religious Zionism and Zehut. Benny Gantz is the only smaller list figure with over 1% support but remains far from crossing the threshold. Lazar noted that the Zionist opposition bloc has stabilized, and surplus-vote agreements will prevent wasted votes. He also discussed the impact of Arab citizen voter turnout, stating, "The higher the voter turnout, the greater the power of the Arab parties will be." Likud's recent primaries did not provide a significant boost, and internal conflicts within the Haredi parties, particularly United Torah Judaism, were noted. Lazar expects voter uncertainty to decline further after the holiday period.