Latest poll shows Yesh Atid retaining 3-seat lead over Likud, as Jewish Home passes Joint List to be 3rd largest party.

Former Finance Minister Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party remains ahead of the Likud in polling for the Knesset, with the latest Panel Project HaMidgam/Statnet poll giving Yesh Atid a three-seat edge.

According to the survey, published on Thursday, if elections were held today, the Likud would sink from the 30 mandates it currently holds to 24.

Yesh Atid, on the other hand, which won 11 seats in 2015, would rise to 27, making it the largest party in the Knesset.

Since September, Yesh Atid has lead the Likud in most polls, though Thursday’s survey shows a slight tightening between the two parties since December 30th, when Likud trailed by four mandates.

The poll also showed greater support for Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid to become Prime Minister, with 33% of the public favoring him over incumbent Binyamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu edged out Lapid by just four points – 37 to 33 – while 30% did not respond.

A Teleseker poll published last week also showed a competitive race between the two, win Netanyahu leading Lapid by just two points, 23 to 21.

The Jewish Home party, led by Education Minister Naftali Bennett, would become the third largest party in the Knesset, rising from 8 to 13 seats, while the Joint List would lose one mandate, falling to 12.

The Zionist Union, which currently leads the opposition, would lose most of its strength, plummeting from 24 to just 9 seats, while the far-left Meretz party would rise slightly, from 5 to 6 mandates.

Shas would remain stable at seven, and United Torah Judaism would climb from six to seven seats.

Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beytenu showed a 50% rise, increasing to nine mandates from the 6 it won in 2015.

Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon’s Kulanu, however, would lose 4 of its 10 seats.