Poll: Only 33% of Israelis say Netanyahu is best candidate for PM; 59% prefer someone else

Only 33 percent of Israelis say Benjamin Netanyahu is the most fitting candidate for prime minister, according to a poll on Channel 12, while 59% of respondents prefer someone other than the incumbent premier.

Eight percent of respondents said they weren’t sure. The election will be held on October 27.

Head-to-head polls pitting Netanyahu against rival candidates have shown in recent weeks that he’s lagging behind centrist former IDF chief Gadi Eisenkot, but narrowly leading against former prime minister Naftali Bennett.

Today’s Channel 12 poll indicates that, overall, a majority of Israelis do not favor Netanyahu continuing in the job, which he has held nearly uninterrupted since 2009. A government led by Bennett and Yair Lapid unseated him for a year and a half beginning in mid-2021.

Israel, however, does not hold direct elections for prime minister. Successive polls over the course of months have shown both the pro- and anti-Netanyahu blocs of parties falling short of securing a majority in the Knesset — though the anti-Netanyahu bloc comes closer. Polls show Arab parties routinely garnering around 10 seats in the 120-seat Knesset.

The Channel 12 poll found that 46% of voters favor anti-Netanyahu parties, including Arab parties, while 34% favor pro-Netanyahu parties. Five percent favor parties uncommitted to either bloc, while 15% are undecided.