Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is losing the war in Gaza, and is failing to win the larger strategic war in the Middle East, but he is, once more, winning the Israeli public to his side.
For the first time since October 7, the majority of Israelis are now backing Netanyahu as the best candidate to lead the Israeli government.
A new poll released on Friday shows that 42% of Israelis believe Netanyahu is the best candidate to lead the government, surpassing former Defense Minister Benny Gantz, who received 40% of the vote, Anadolu news agency reported.
This marks the first time since the start of the Gaza war that Netanyahu has outperformed Gantz in public opinion.
According to the Israeli daily Maariv newspaper, the shift in favor of Netanyahu comes as Israel faces increasing tensions with Iran and the Lebanese group Hezbollah.
The poll was conducted by the Lazar Institute and involved a random sample of 501 Israelis.
The poll also reflects a resurgence of support for Netanyahu’s Likud party, which, for the first time since the war on Gaza began on Oct. 7, 2023, is now the leading party, surpassing Gantz’s National Unity Party.
If elections were held today, Likud would secure 22 seats in the 120-member Knesset, while Gantz’s National Unity Party would win 20 seats, according to the poll.
Additionally, Avigdor Lieberman’s right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu would receive 15 seats, and Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid would gain 13 seats.
Despite Likud’s lead, however, neither Netanyahu’s camp nor the opposition would be able to form a government if elections were held now.
Netanyahu’s camp would win 53 seats, while the opposition would secure 57 seats, with Arab parties securing 10 seats.
A majority of 61 seats are needed to form a government.
The poll also suggests that the escalating conflict with Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis has bolstered Netanyahu’s popularity, Anadolu reported.
Ongoing Genocide
Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza.
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 39,677 Palestinians have been killed, and 91,645 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety.
(Anadolu, PC)
