The latest poll for Israel's new elections in November, its fifth round of elections in less than four years, shows that if the elections were held today, opposition leader and former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party would win 34 mandates, more than any other party.
The poll, which was released on Monday by Israel's Channel 11, also showed incumbent Prime Minister Yair Lapid's party, Yesh Atid, as the second most popular party, with 23 mandates, two more than the last poll released by the news outlet.
In third place came the joint slate of New Hope-Blue and White, a merger of Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Justice Minister Gideon Sa'ar's parties, which would gain 14 mandates, two more than they received last week when they were running separately. The merger of the two parties was announced Sunday.
Netanyahu said Monday that if he returns to the position of prime minister, he intends to ''bring full peace agreements with Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries.'' Netanyahu secured normalization relationships with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan under the Abraham Accords as prime minister in 2020.
After the first meeting after the New Hope-Blue and White partnership, Gantz said: ''Our mission is very focused ... to bring an end to the political crisis and to establish a stable, broad and stately government that will fill its days.''
The coalition headed by then-Prime Minister Naftali Bennett disbanded last month, and, in honoring their initial rotation agreement, Bennett stepped down to make room for Lapid to serve in the position until a new government is formed.
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