Popularity of Israeli ruling coalition member falls under electoral threshold: Opinion poll

JERUSALEM

A recent poll showed that the far-right Religious Zionism Party in Israel, headed by hardline Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, would fail to meet the country's electoral threshold with its current public support, Israeli media reported on Wednesday.

The results of the poll, conducted by broadcaster Channel 12, showed that if elections were held, the opposition National Unity Party of former Defense Minster Benny Gantz had enough support to increase the number of its seats in the Knesset, the country's parliament, to 37 from its current eight.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party, meanwhile, stood to hold only 18 of its current 32 seats.

The poll also showed the far-right Jewish Power Party of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, another hardliner, securing eight seats.

The Yesh Atid (There is Future) Party of opposition leader Yair Lapid would drop to 15 seats from its current 24, the opinion poll showed.

A party or coalition needs at least 61 votes of the 120-member Knesset to form the Israeli government. The threshold to gain any Knesset seats stands at 3.25%.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar