Poll shows Netanyahu bloc sinking, with 60% of Israelis wanting him to resign as PM
Survey says pro-Netanyahu bloc would fall to 48 seats if Bennett runs; 3/4s of respondents back state commission of inquiry into the Oct. 7 onslaught, which the premier opposes
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling coalition would take a further hit if elections were held today and former premier Naftali Bennett ran, as he is widely expected to do, according to an Israeli television poll released Wednesday.
In such a scenario, Channel 12 news said the allocation of seats would be as follows: Likud 24; Bennett’s party 24; Yesh Atid 11; The Democrats 10; National Unity nine; Shas nine; United Torah Judaism eight; Yisrael Beytenu eight; Otzma Yehudit seven; Hadash-Ta’al five; Ra’am five.
The pro-Netanyahu bloc would be at just 48 seats in the 120-member Knesset — down from the network’s previous poll that put it at 51 when Bennett is in the mix, with Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s far-right Religious Zionism party failing to pick up sufficient support to enter parliament.
If elections were held today with only the parties currently in the Knesset, the pro-Netanyahu bloc would win 54 seats, with the premier’s Likud party the largest at 25 seats, followed by National Unity at 16, Yesh Atid 14, The Democrats 14, Yisrael Beytenu 12, Shas nine, United Torah Judaism eight, Otzma Yehudit eight, Hadash-Ta’al five, Ra’am five and Religious Zionism four.
While Netanyahu and his partners would lack a majority in such an outcome, Hadash-Ta’al is not aligned with the premier or his parliamentary opponents, who would require the support of Ra’am to build a majority coalition. The Islamist party was part of the collection of right-wing, centrist and left-wing parties that ousted Netanyahu from power between 2021 and 2022, but has been sharply critical of Israel over the Gaza war.
The survey also included several head-to-head matchups between Netanyahu and his political rivals on who is better suited to be prime minister, with Bennett the only one to outpoll the premier at 36 percent of respondents to Netanyahu’s 34%.
Rabbi Haim Drukman, at Merkaz Shapira, near Kiryat Malachi, on December 26, 2022 (Gil Cohen-Magen / AFP)
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, National Unity leader Benny Gantz and National Unity MK Gadi Eisenkot were the other candidates included in the survey, with the latter scoring the highest among them, with 28% of respondents saying he’s better cut out for the premiership than Netanyahu, versus 26% and 23% for Gantz and Lapid respectively.
According to the poll, 60% of the public thinks Netanyahu should resign as prime minister, compared to 31% who think he should stay in his post and 9% who are unsure. Among coalition voters, 24% think he should resign; among opposition voters, 94% think he should resign.
Sixty-four percent of respondents think Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar should resign, compared to 18% who think he should remain and 18% who are unsure. Among coalition voters, 75% think he should resign, compared to 55% of opposition voters who feel the same.
Netanyahu is reportedly looking to fire Bar, who he has recently clashed with over the Shin Bet’s probe into several of his aides’ alleged ties to Qatar and the security agency’s investigation of its failings surrounding the October 7, 2023, terror onslaught.
A whopping 75% of the public supports the launching of a state commission of inquiry into the October 7 attack, compared to just 15% of the public that backs Netanyahu’s opposition to such a probe.
The poll, which was conducted before Justice Minister Yariv Levin on Wednesday announced the initiation of proceedings to fire Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, showed that 42% of Israelis back the move, compared to 41% who oppose it and 17% who are unsure.
Among coalition voters, support for the attorney general’s ouster stands at 75%, compared to 12% among opposition voters.
The survey, led by pollster Manu Geva, included 500 respondents and had a 4.4% margin of error.
