Israel's Barak gains in polls, Netanyahu stays ahead

By Ari Rabinovitch

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak's Labor Party, largely written off in opinion polls ahead of a February 10 election, has gained ground during the Gaza war he helped to direct but apparently not enough to beat its rivals.

Although recent surveys predicted center-left Labor would win 17 of the 120 seats in parliament -- double what previous polls had forecast -- former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party was still the front-runner.

Likud looks set to win 29 seats, with the ruling centrist Kadima party led by Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni taking 27, according to the most recent polls, published on January 9.

The party that captures the largest number of seats is usually tapped to try to put together a government.

Kadima's popularity has been hit by public discontent over the 2005 Gaza pullout it led and corruption scandals that forced Ehud Olmert to resign as the party's leader and prime minister.

Olmert has been serving as caretaker prime minister until a new government is formed after next month's election.

Israeli public support for the offensive Israel launched in the Gaza Strip on December 27 has been strong, although Hamas continued to fire rockets during the air and ground operation.

"It's not enough to make Barak prime minister, but it almost guarantees him a top spot in the next government," said political scientist Hani Zubida of Israel's Interdisciplinary Center.