Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is experiencing a serious loss of public trust. According to a new poll conducted by Mano Geva and Midgam and broadcast on Channel 13, 60% of Israelis described Netanyahu's credibility as "weak," while only 38% found it "good."
In the credibility ranking, opposition Yair Party leader Gadi Eisenkot took the top spot. Eisenkot stood out as the most trusted politician with a 54% positive rating, followed by former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett with 41%.
Netanyahu's loss of trust comes amid the corruption cases filed against him and the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The prime minister is being tried in three separate investigations, known as "Case 1000, 2000, and 4000," on charges of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust.
The poll measuring voting intentions showed a clear advantage for the opposition bloc. All opposition parties combined won 68.75 seats, while Netanyahu's camp remained at 51.25 seats. This distribution comfortably gives the opposition the 61-seat majority needed to form a government. Eisenkot's party narrowly overtook Likud (22.25 seats) with 22.75 seats.
Arab parties, meanwhile, won a total of 10.5 seats. The Democratic Front and Arab Change Movement alliance won 6 seats, and the United Arab List won 4.5 seats.
These results were consistent with a second poll published the same day by the Maariv newspaper. In that poll, Eisenkot's party also overtook Likud.
Meanwhile, there is movement within the ruling Likud party. Channel 13 reported that Netanyahu told senior party officials that the current list "will not bring Likud back to power." A senior party official said Netanyahu is seeking "new blood" and wants to renew the party ranks with new names. The current Knesset's term ends in October, and general elections are planned for that date.
