An opinion poll showed today that Israel’s opposition could secure the 61 seats needed to form a government if elections were held today while 55 percent of Israelis prefer Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to retire from politics, reports the Israeli newspaper “Maariv”, Anadolu reports.

The poll was conducted by the private institute “Lazar” among a random sample of 502 Israelis, with a margin of error of 4.4 points. percent.

“Asked what they want Netanyahu to do in the next election, run for Likud leadership or retire from political life, 55 percent said they prefer him to retire, while 38 percent said they want him to run for Likud leadership and 7 said they don’t know,” the newspaper said.

According to the poll, the opposition would be able to form a government. alternative if the elections were held today.

“Maariv” writes that amid the ongoing uncertainty in the war against Iran, repeated immersion in the Lebanese quagmire and Israelis’ concern about the increase in violence within their society, Likud, led by Netanyahu and Otzma Yehudi, led by the far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, lost seats this week.

“As a result, the poll predicts that the bloc of coalition would fall to 49 seats while the Jewish opposition bloc would grow to a majority of 61 seats while Arab lawmakers would get 10 seats if the elections were held today,” the newspaper said.

A Maariv poll last week showed Netanyahu’s bloc would get 51 seats, the Jewish opposition 59 seats and Arab entities 10 seats.

The formation of a government requires at least 61 of the 120 members of the Knesset (Israel’s parliament).

The poll comes amid concerns within the ruling coalition that it could lose the election after it introduced a bill on Wednesday to dissolve parliament in an attempt to outpace the opposition, which had presented two similar bills, according to Jewish media.

The Knesset is expected to begin voting next week to decide whether to dissolves and will set an election date. The current Knesset’s term ends in October, but discussions are underway to hold early elections in September.

In November 2024, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Source: prizrenpost