Poll: Most Israelis favor early elections, amid low confidence in Netanyahu

Anti-government protesters march in the northern city of Haifa, with a banner reading, 'The government of Israel against the people of Israel. Elections now,' on July 6, 2024. (Pro-Democracy Protest Movement/Eilat Markovitch)
Anti-government protesters march in the northern city of Haifa, with a banner reading, 'The government of Israel against the people of Israel. Elections now,' on July 6, 2024. (Pro-Democracy Protest Movement/Eilat Markovitch)

Public confidence in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is low and most Israelis favor early elections, according to a poll released by Channel 12 news last night, before the IDF carried out retaliatory airstrikes on military targets in Iran.

Asked when elections should be held, 51 percent of respondents say as soon as possible, while 39% want to wait until the next general elections, formally scheduled for October 2026.

Israel’s security chiefs get better grades in the television news poll than the premier, who was rated “good” by 41% of respondents and “bad” by 55%.

By way of comparison, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is rated positively by 58% of respondents and negatively by 34%, while IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halev gets “good” marks from 59% and “bad” from 30%.

Similarly, 55% of respondents rate Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar’s performance as “good” and only 29% “bad,” and Mossad head David Barnea is positively rated by 60% of respondents and negatively by just 20%.

The polls also finds overwhelming support for a hostage-ceasefire deal with Hamas — even if it means a halt to fighting in Gaza — with 73% supporting a deal and only 14% opposing it.

The vast majority of participants in the survey also call for the establishment of a state commission of inquiry into the failures leading to Hamas’s devastating October 7, 2023 attack, with 80% for and 10% against.

The survey, by pollster Manu Geva, questioned 502 respondents and has a 4.4% margin of error. Data was collected on September 29.

Most Popular