In a recent election poll conducted by KAN News, Benny Gantz’s National Unity party emerged stronger with 30 seats, challenging the Likud party, which won 27. This trend highlights the changing political landscape in the nation, with Netanyahu’s coalition dwindling to 53 seats.
Following closely behind are other political factions: Yesh Atid has won 17 mandates, the Religious Zionist Party claims 10, the Shas party claims nine, and United Torah Judaism claims seven.
In addition, Yisrael Beytenu, Meretz, Ra’am and Hadash-Ta’al get five mandates each. The Labor party is on the brink, it has not yet crossed the electoral threshold, but it shows promise with a rise to 3.1%. It should be noted that Balad has not crossed the threshold either.
Potential exceeding of the standard of reasonableness
A particularly contentious issue addressed in the survey was the passing of the reasonableness clause. The results indicate that 46% of respondents are against it, while 35% are in favor.
19% remain undecided about the reasonableness clause. Despite the majority resistance to the clause, a significant part of the respondents, 47%, also expressed their opposition to bypassing the reservation duty.
Israelis take part in a protest where military reservists sign a pledge to suspend voluntary military service if the government passes judicial review legislation near the defense ministry in Tel Aviv, Israel, July 19, 2023. The sign in Hebrew reads ‘The Liberation War.’ (credit: REUTERS/AMIR COHEN)
The survey, conducted online and covering a wide demographic group, including the Arab sector, involved 602 people aged 18 and over. With 3,256 people approached for responses, the survey has a sampling error of 4.1%.
Defense Minister Gallant is calling for a postponement of the reasonableness standard bill
On the leadership side, when asked about Yoav Gallant’s possible support for the law and his subsequent role, nearly half of respondents believe he should remain, in contrast to a quarter who believe Netanyahu should replace him.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant recently defended postponing the vote on the controversial “standard of reasonableness bill,” an amendment to the Basic Law: The Judiciary, which seeks to limit judicial review of decisions made by elected officials.
If passed, courts would not be able to apply the “reasonableness standard” to certain government decisions, a move many fear could undermine democratic balances. The bill has drawn particular attention after more than 1,000 Air Force reservists announced they would leave their voluntary reserve duty, joining many others in the IDF’s intelligence and special forces.
This isn’t Gallant’s first brush with controversy; in March, he narrowly avoided the impeachment of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after publicly opposing similar legislation. The current bill has sparked intense debate, with the potential to reshape the balance between Israel’s executive and judicial branches.
Eliav Breuer contributed to this report.
