Poll Shows Gains by Israeli Labor Party

A poll published Friday indicates that the Israeli Labor alignment has gained enough support since the last election to win control of the government, which it now shares with the conservative Likud bloc.

The Modiin Ezrahi Research Institute poll published in the daily newspaper Maariv indicated that Labor, led by Prime Minister Shimon Peres, could win 55 seats in the 120-member Knesset, or Parliament.

Labor’s centrist and left-wing allies could win eight seats, giving the bloc 63 seats for a three-vote majority, according to the poll.

The poll also indicated that Labor could govern without the support of religious parties. No recent election has given one party enough sets to form a government without the help of the small religious parties.

Labor won 40 seats in the last election, July 23, 1984. Even with its allies, it did not have a majority of the seats in Parliament and was forced into a bipartisan government with the rival Likud bloc and six smaller parties.

Likud, led by Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir, won 41 seats in the election. According to the poll, its support has declined to 30 seats.