Tel Aviv, March 11 (RHC)-- An Israeli opinion survey has revealed that the opposition Zionist Union is edging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ruling Likud party, which is heading into a make-or-break election.

With the March 17th election nearing, the Tuesday poll by Israeli research institute Panel Politics showed that Isaac Herzog's Zionist Union, which identifies itself as center-leftist, could earn 24 seats against Likud's 21 projected seats in the Knesset, the Israeli parliament.

The poll surveyed more than 1,000 Israelis and had a margin of error of three percentage points. Chances, however, still exist for the Likud to form a coalition with about a dozen other parties to secure victory.

Netanyahu said in broadcast remarks on Tuesday, "It is a very tight race. Nothing is guaranteed because there is a huge, worldwide effort to topple the Likud government." He has been lately facing growing criticism for his handling of domestic politics and also a controversial anti-Iran speech he made at the U.S. Congress last week.

Netanyahu addressed Congress on March 3rd, calling on the United States not to negotiate what he called "a very bad deal" with Iran over its nuclear energy program.