Support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party plummeted in the polls following the news of the impending truce with Hamas, a survey published by Channel 14 showed on Thursday night.
Direct Polls, which accurately predicted the results of the Jewish state’s most recent general election on Nov. 1, 2022, surveyed a representative sample of 521 Israelis on Jan. 16. (The margin of error is plus or minus 4.5 percentage points at a confidence level of 95%, Direct Polls said.)
If a vote were to be called now, Netanyahu’s ruling Likud Party would secure 29 mandates out of the Israeli parliament’s 120, down five since the previous Direct Polls survey published on Jan. 2 and three less than it has held in the Knesset since the November 2022 general election.
Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beytenu Party and the Democrats received the next most projected seats (15 each), followed by National Unity (12), Shas (10), United Torah Judaism and Otzma Yehudit (eight each), Yesh Atid (seven), Religious Zionism (six), Ra’am and Hadash-Ta’al (five each).
When asked who is best suited to serve as the Jewish state’s prime minister, 41% told Direct Polls it felt Netanyahu was the right man for the job—a 2% decrease since the previous survey—while 18% said Benny Gantz. Forty-one percent said neither politician is suitable.
When choosing between Netanyahu and Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid, 44% said the longtime Likud Party prime minister was best suited to lead, 21% said Lapid and 35% said both were unsuitable.
Since the November 2022 election, the Likud Party has held 32 seats in the Knesset, in addition to the 32 seats held by Netanyahu’s right-wing and religious allies. Unless the Netanyahu-led government collapses and early elections are called, the next national vote is scheduled for 2026.
