Israel's right-wing leads ahead of next month's polls

JERUSALEM

Israel's right-wing has returned to the forefront, one month before the April 9 election, a new opinion poll showed on Sunday.

The survey conducted for Israeli daily Haaretz showed that the right-wing could win 63 seats in the 120-member Knesset (Israel's parliament) against 57 seats for the center-left and Arab parties.

The poll showed that the right-wing parties could grab these seats without the support of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, led by former defense minister Avigdor Lieberman, whose party was not expected to exceed the four-seat threshold.

Haaretz said the progress made by the right-wing means that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has overcome the effect of the attorney-general's decision last month to indict him in three separate cases on charges of corruption and bribery.

Netanyahu appeared to have been shaken by the indictment, but his Likud party maintained its strength with 28 seats and 10 seats for the opposition Labor party.

The Haaretz survey also showed that Blue and White list led by Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid would win 31 seats.

The new survey threatens Gantz chances to form the next government, even if he won the elections, because of his inability to form a coalition government in light of the superiority of the right and far-right parties.

Writing by Ali H. M.Abo Rezeg