A public opinion poll conducted for Israel’s TV Channel 2 has indicated that the popular uprising in the occupied Palestinian territories has negatively affected the popularity of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The poll’s results also revealed that the former chief of staff of the Israeli army, Benny Gantz, enjoys more popularity than Netanyahu and would get more votes if he ran for prime minister.

The survey suggested that 44 per cent of Israelis favour Gants as prime minister to Netanyahu, who was supported by only 32 per cent of respondents.

According to Channel 2, the survey included a large sample of Israelis from various ages, political parties, and social and religious backgrounds.

The former Minister of Finance Yair Lapid, who also heads the There is a Future Party, received 32 per cent of the vote against 46 per cent for Netanyahu if the two were to run for prime minster against one another. Former Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin got 30 per cent against 39 per cent for Netanyahu, while another former IDF chief of staff, Gabi Ashkenazi, received 29 per cent of the vote as opposed to 41 per cent for Netanyahu if the two were to stand against each other in an election.

The poll showed a significant decline in the popularity of Israeli opposition leader Yitzhak Herzog of the Zionist Union. Herzog was supported by 28 per cent of the poll’s respondents against 51 per cent for Netanyahu.

(MEMO)