Israelis oppose Netanyahu’s firing of Shin Bet chief Bar by 46-31%, poll shows

Forty-six percent of Israelis oppose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s firing of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar, compared to 31% who back the dismissal, a Channel 12 poll finds.

This contrasts with 64% who said Bar should resign in a poll two weeks ago, and 18% who said he should not.

Today’s poll also finds that 51% of Israelis believe Netanyahu is firing Bar for personal reasons, compared to 34% who believe there are substantive reasons.

The poll also finds that Israelis strongly support President Isaac Herzog’s formula for appointing a state commission of inquiry into October 7’s failures. The president’s idea is that Supreme Court President Isaac Amit should appoint the panel, in consultation with his incoming Supreme Court deputy Noam Sohlberg, a staunch conservative. The idea, backed by Israelis in the poll by 65% to 22%, was accepted by Amit, but rejected by Netanyahu, who flatly opposes a state inquiry.

The poll also asks how Israelis would vote if elections were held today and finds that if former prime minister Naftali Bennett runs, as expected, he would be able to form a coalition of 67 seats in the 120-member Knesset.

The parties would score as follows: Likud: 22; Bennett’s party: 22; The Democrats: 12; Yesh Atid: 11; Shas: 9; Otzma Yehudit: 9; United Torah Judaism: 8; National Unity: 7; Ra’am: 5; Hadash-Ta’al: 5. Religious Zionism and Balad would win no seats.

The blocs in this scenario would be: Bennett-led anti-Netanyahu bloc 67; Netanyahu-led bloc 48; with Hadash-Ta’al unaffiliated with either bloc.

If only the current Knesset parties ran, they would score as follows: Likud: 24; National Unity: 15; Yesh Atid: 14; Yisrael Beytenu 14; The Democrats 14; Otzma Yehudit 10; Shas: 10; United Torah Judaism: 8; Ra’am: 6; Hadash-Ta’al: 5. Religious Zionism and Balad would again fall below the threshold.

The blocs would be: Anti-Netanyahu parties: 63 seats; Netanyahu bloc: 52 seats.