Amid a host of ongoing corruption investigations potentially implicating Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his close associates, the ruling Likud party, which Netanyahu heads, continues to gain popularity, Channel 13 reported Saturday.
Netanyahu is currently linked to three corruption cases: Case 1,000, which centers on gifts Netanyahu allegedly received from billionaires; Case 2,000, which focuses on an illicit deal Netanyahu allegedly tried to strike with Yedioth Ahronoth publisher Arnon Mozes to ensure positive coverage; and Case 4,000, which centers on an alleged deal to promote government regulation in exchange for positive coverage of Netanyahu and his wife on the Walla news website.
Another case, dubbed Case 3,000, revolves around an alleged conflict of interest with regard to the 2016 procurement of three German submarines. Case 3,000 does not implicate Netanyahu directly, but rather his attorney and cousin, David Shimron.
Over the weekend, Channel 13 program Meet the Press aired the results of a poll, conducted by Midgam Research Institute pollsters Dr. Mina Tzemach and Mano Geva.
The poll found that if elections were held at this time, the Likud party would win 28 Knesset seats, up three mandates from a poll conducted by Hadashot evening news two weeks ago.
According to the latest poll, Yesh Atid emerges as the second-largest party in parliament with 24 seats, followed by Zionist Union (15), the Joint Arab List (12), Habayit Hayehudi (9), Kulanu, Yisrael Beytenu and United Torah Judaism with seven seats each, Meretz (6) and Shas, which is likely to win five seats.
A separate poll held last week predicted Likud could win 34 seats, more than the 30 Knesset seats it currently holds since the 2015 elections.
That poll said Yesh Atid was likely to win 20 seats, followed by Habayit Hayehudi (14), Zionist Union and the Joint Arab List with 12 seats each, United Torah Judaism (9), Kulanu (7), and Yisrael Beytenu and Meretz with six seats each.
The survey said Shas, the Sephardi ultra-Orthodox party, would not meet the 3.25% electoral threshold and would not be included in parliament. This would be a first for Shas, which has been part of the Knesset since its inception in 1984.
