From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, January 30, 2024
TV poll shows further drop in support for Netanyahu, with Gantz far out in front
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Public support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has further slipped in recent weeks amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, according to a television poll aired this evening.
If new elections were held today, Channel 12 news said Minister Benny Gantz’s National Unity party would be the largest with 37 seats, followed by Netanyahu’s Likud with 18. They are followed by Yesh Atid at 14 seats, Shas 10, Yisrael Beytenu eight, Otzma Yehudit eight, United Torah Judaism seven, Hadash-Ta’al five, Ra’am five, Religious Zionism four and Meretz four.
Neither Labor or Balad clear the minimum vote threshold in the poll.
Overall, the anti-Netanyahu bloc would have 68 of the Knesset’s 120 seats, and Likud and its allies would have 47. Hadash-Ta’al is not aligned with either bloc.
Pairing prime ministerial candidates head-to-head, the survey also asks who is better cut out to be premier. In a Gantz versus Netanyahu matchup, 41 percent back the former, while 23% back the latter. In a poll released by the network earlier this month, those figures were 42% and 29% respectively.
When faced off against National Unity MK Gadi Eisenkot, an observer in the war cabinet, 24% say Netanyahu is better suited to be prime minister and 36% say Eisenkot.
Though trailing Gantz and Eisenkot, Netanyahu continues to be a more popular choice for premier than Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, with 29% saying he is more fit for the job and 27% saying Lapid.
The Times of Israel Community.