For the first time in two months, the opposition could reach a Knesset majority of 61 seats, a poll by Maariv revealed on Friday.
The opposition had been standing at 60 seats, at the cusp of a majority, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition remained at 50 seats. The Arab parties, meanwhile, stand at 10 seats.
Maariv attributes the change in part to IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir's recent demands for increased recruitment to the IDF, combined with vehement haredi (ultra-Orthodox) rejection of being drafted.
The shift in power is due to the Likud and Otzma Yehudit parties each weakening by one seat, whereas in the opposition, former prime minister Naftali Bennett's party and Yisrael Beytenu, led by Avigdor Liberman, each gained one seat.
In addition, Maariv's poll showed the Democrats losing a seat, while Ra'am gained one. Blue and White (2.8%), Religious Zionism (2%), Balad (1.9%), and the Reservists (2.8%) would all not pass the electoral threshold.
Netanyahu still favored as prime minister
The poll also asked who among existing political leaders was best suited to be prime minister.
Netanyahu was favored by the most respondents, at 37%. Next were Bennett (21%), Yashar party leader and ex-IDF chief Gadi Eisenkot (12%), and opposition leader Yair Lapid (8%). The poll also revealed that 14% of respondents believed that none of them were suitable to be prime minister.
Another issue asked about in the poll was the second phase of US President Donald Trump's Gaza peace plan.
Respondents were almost evenly split on their opinion of the plan's implementation so far, with 41% describing it as a full or partial success and 42% as a complete or partial failure.
The poll, conducted January 21–22, surveyed 501 respondents representing the adult population, Jewish and Arab, with a maximum sampling error of ±4.4%. Findings were reported by Maariv and compiled by Lazar Research, led by Dr. Menachem Lazar, in cooperation with Panel4All.