Smotrich-Feiglin merger leads to passing Knesset electoral threshold, boosting PM's coalition

A recent Maariv poll indicates that the merger between Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's Religious Zionist Party and Moshe Feiglin's Zehut, along with Ofer Winter's People of Israel party, has allowed them to pass the 3.25% electoral threshold, securing five and four seats respectively. This development boosts Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition to 51 seats, the highest since May, while the opposition bloc weakened to 57 seats. The poll also found that Gadi Eisenkot and Naftali Bennett are viewed as more suitable prime minister candidates than Netanyahu in head-to-head matchups. Additionally, 55% of respondents fear another war between Israel and Iran, and 40% believe there was an "inside betrayal" on October 7, 2023.