Most Israelis think Netanyahu should quit as Likud head over legal woes — poll

A majority of Israelis believe Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should immediately resign as head of the Likud party in light of his pending indictment on graft charges, according to a survey released today.

Over half of respondents (53.5 percent) to the Israel Democracy Institute poll say Netanyahu should step down now as Likud chief, while 65% believe he should do so if indicted. 24% oppose him stepping down as leader of Likud.

In light of Israel’s ongoing political deadlock, the survey also asked about support for a rotation agreement under which Netanyahu and his Blue and White rival Benny Gantz would switch off as premier as a condition of forming a unity government.

Fifty-six percent of the Israeli public supports a Gantz-Netanyahu rotation agreement, according to the poll, while 32% oppose such an arrangement.

Also, 56% of survey respondents say they support a political system that has two large parties, while a third are against this. Opposition is highest among supporters of smaller parties, particularly among the ultra-Orthodox Shas and Untied Torah Judaism parties, who have been a central part of most recent governments.

Finally, the poll asked whether voters would back the same party if a third round of elections were held today. All UTJ supporters say they would, as do 90% of Joint List voters, 88.5% of Likud voters, 85% of Democratic Camp voters, 84% of Blue and White voters, 76% of Yamina voters, 70% of Shas voters and 64% of Labor-Gesher voters.

In a potentially troubling sign for Avigdor Liberman, whose Yisrael Beytenu surged from five to eight seats after last month’s elections and became Knesset kingmaker, only 51.5% of Yisrael Beytenu voters say they would back the party again.

The survey, conducted by IDI’s Guttman Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research, was done on October 3-6. It was made up of 601 voters and had a 4.1% margin of error.