A Kan News poll published on August 31, 2026, shows that Ofer Winter’s People of Israel party and Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionism party have crossed the electoral threshold. The poll indicates that support for People of Israel and Religious Zionism increased at the expense of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit.

Likud fell by one seat compared to Kan’s previous poll, dropping to 21 seats. The party has lost three seats since the beginning of the month according to Kan polls. Otzma Yehudit declined to seven seats in the poll, while the Joint List overtook Otzma Yehudit in projected Knesset seats.

Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party remained stable with 24 seats, and Naftali Bennett’s Together party remained stable with 21 seats. Yair Golan’s Democrats party lost one seat, falling to nine seats, while Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beytenu lost one seat, falling to eight seats. Arab parties increased their projected representation to 13 seats.

The opposition bloc declined from 57 seats to 55 seats in the poll. The coalition bloc rose from 51 seats to 52 seats. Benny Gantz, Gilad Erdan, and Matan Kahana’s parties fail to pass the electoral threshold in all poll scenarios.

Benjamin Netanyahu holds a 37% suitability rating to serve as prime minister, while Naftali Bennett holds 36%. Gadi Eisenkot leads Benjamin Netanyahu on suitability to serve as prime minister, 40% to 37%. Regarding security measures, 41% of respondents said the Shin Bet should provide security for Gadi Eisenkot, while 29% opposed. Additionally, 43% of respondents opposed Shin Bet protection for Yair Golan, while 30% supported it.

A merger between Smotrich and Ben-Gvir would result in 10 combined seats, compared to 12 seats if they ran separately. Fifty-seven percent of coalition voters support a merger between Smotrich and Ben-Gvir. In a scenario where Smotrich and Ben-Gvir merge, Winter’s party would rise to five seats.

If Smotrich were to unite with Moshe Feiglin’s party, Religious Zionism would rise to seven seats. In a Smotrich-Feiglin unity scenario, Winter’s party would fall below the electoral threshold.

Benjamin Netanyahu criticized Itamar Ben-Gvir’s opposition to a merger with Bezalel Smotrich during an interview on Channel 14’s 'The Patriots' program. "He is coming out with great anger, I do not understand why," Netanyahu said. "When Smotrich was high and he was low, Ben-Gvir called on him to put his ego aside and unite, and Smotrich did the responsible thing."

"Today Ben-Gvir needs to do the responsible thing," Netanyahu said. "There is about a week to allow for a merger. It is very possible that everyone can unite." Netanyahu also expressed concern regarding Winter's new party. "I am worried that this [People of Israel] party could do one of two things: either waste votes or cause one of the parties I mentioned to fall," he said.

Ofer Winter rejected claims that his party threatens the right-wing bloc. "What endangers the right-wing camp and the entire people of Israel are kites from Gaza," Winter said. "There is only one real possibility for change in the right-wing camp and in general: new people, who were not part of the failures of October 7." Winter added that his party maintains its ideological alignment. "Our party is part of the right-wing camp, but we do not work for anyone, only for the people of Israel," he said.