Majority of Israelis believe Netanyahu’s wartime decision-making driven by personal interest: poll

The majority of Israelis believe Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wartime decision-making is being driven by his own personal interests — and not the good of the country, a new poll has found.

Of those surveyed, 53% said Netanyahu’s personal interests were his prime catalyst for driving the Israel-Hamas conflict that has been waging since Oct. 7, according to the latest Channel 13 election poll released Sunday.

Only a third of those polled agreed the Israeli leader had the country’s best interest at heart with his decisions, the survey found.

Spelling more bad news for the sitting prime minister, the poll also found that Netanyahu’s conservative Likud party would likely be ousted if an election was held today — some three months after the war with Hamas broke out.

The Likud party under Netanyahu’s leadership would only win 16 seats — down from its current 32, according to the poll results.

Meanwhile, Minister Benny Gantz — a centrist ex-military chief of staff who joined Netanyahu’s war cabinet from the opposition after Hamas’ shock cross-border attack — would be the biggest winner in Knesset, Israel’s parliament.

His National Unity party would be well-placed to form a coalition with 37 seats — up from the 12 it currently holds — if an election was held immediately, the poll found.

Ex-Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party would come in third with 14 seats, the projections suggest.

Still, if Economy Minister Nir Barkat was leading the Likud party rather than Netanyahu, the poll found the conservative party could garner 21 seats.

Israelis last cast their ballots on Nov. 1, 2022 when Netanyahu secured his historic fifth term win against main rival, Gantz.

The next elections aren’t scheduled until Oct. 27, 2026, but many Israelis expect a national election to be called this year.

The latest poll adds to the increasing number of surveys that show Netanyahu’s popularity falling sharply in the three months since the start of the bloody war.

One poll conducted earlier this month by the Israel Democracy Institute found just 15% of Israelis wanted the current PM to stay in office after the war on Hamas concludes.