Only 15% of Israelis want PM Netanyahu to keep job after Gaza war, poll finds
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Many more still support Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's strategy to crush Hamas, the poll published on Jan 2 showed.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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JERUSALEM - Only 15 per cent of Israelis want Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stay in office after the war on Hamas in Gaza ends, though many more still support his strategy of crushing the militants in the Palestinian enclave, according to a poll published on Jan 2.
Mr Netanyahu promised to crush Hamas after its Oct 7 rampage in southern Israel
Israeli forces have laid much of Gaza to waste in their nearly three-month retaliatory offensive.
Mr Netanyahu has said such intense military pressure is also vital to ensure that the remaining 129 hostages still held in Gaza are returned.
Around 100 were freed in late November in a swop deal
In the poll conducted by the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI), 56 per cent of those questioned said continuing the military offensive was the best way to recover the hostages.
Meanwhile, 24 per cent thought a swop deal including the release of thousands more Palestinian prisoners from Israel's jails would be best.
Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed more than 22,000 Palestinians, according to the enclave’s health officials. Most of the strip’s population have been displaced.
Israel says it has killed some 8,000 Palestinian fighters and has vowed to hunt down Hamas leaders.
But a mere 15 per cent of those polled want Mr Netanyahu to be prime minister once the war is over, the survey showed.
His political rival and present war Cabinet partner, centrist Benny Gantz, garnered support from 23 per cent of interviewees. Around 30 per cent named no preferred leader.
The poll was conducted among 746 respondents between Dec 25 and Dec 28, with a 95 per cent confidence level, the IDI said.
A previous IDI poll in December found that 69 per cent of Israelis thought that elections should be held as soon as the war ends.
Mr Netanyahu said on Dec 30 that it would be months before victory is achieved.
Successive surveys have found that his popularity has fallen sharply since the October attack by Hamas. REUTERS
