Israel: Final Polls Show PM on Verge of Majority
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came close to the 61 MKs needed to form a right-wing government without Yisrael Beytenu in the final polls on Friday permitted to be taken by law.
A poll broadcast on Channel 12 predicted 59 MKs for Netanyahu’s bloc, while Channel 13’s poll predicted 58 MKs and Maariv’s poll 57. Maariv uses Rafi Smith, the same pollster used by Netanyahu.
Netanyahu gave interviews to three television channels on Saturday night and claimed in all three that if the election ended now, he would lose and the next government would be formed by Blue and White leaders Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid.
When Channel 12 interviewer Rina Matzliach told Netanyahu that in fact he was not losing the election, Netanyahu said: “That is not true. Their bloc includes [Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor] Liberman, and together with him, they win.”
https://www.jpost.com/Israel-Elections/Final-Channel-12-poll-finds-stalemate-Otzma-Yehudit-clear-threshold-601667
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