With the publication of the results of two new opinion polls confirming that the ruling Likud Party in Israel, headed by Benjamin Netanyahu, will be destroyed in any upcoming elections, the leaders of this party are busy searching for an alternative leader. Despite the ongoing war on Gaza and the risk of deteriorating into a broader war, including the West Bank, Lebanon, and perhaps other fronts, and efforts to complete a prisoner exchange deal, Likud leaders are struggling among themselves amid initiatives to bring in another leader who will surpass them all from outside the party. The shining name in this field is Yossi Cohen, the former head of Mossad, Israel's foreign intelligence service.

Leaders in the party feel insulted by such initiatives. It means that none of them are fit for the task. But experts and veteran politicians say that the reason they are underestimated is because they are afraid to appear publicly against Netanyahu, even though it causes the party to collapse, and therefore field commanders began searching for figures from outside the party.

According to the Maariv weekly newspaper poll, citizens were asked about their opinion about who would take over the leadership of the Likud after the era of Netanyahu. Cohen had the highest support rate (21 percent), and Minister Gideon Saar, who left the Likud and allied with Benny Gantz, received 13 percent. percent of the votes, and only after them came the rest of the Likud leaders, such as Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (12 percent), then Nir Barkat (11 percent), while 23 percent said they did not want any of these candidates. The results of the poll show that the percentage of Cohen’s supporters among Likud Party voters (not the general electorate in Israel) is 26 percent, and Barkat has the same percentage.

The “Maariv” newspaper poll, which was conducted by the “Lazar” Research Institute headed by Dr. Menachem Lazar, with the participation of “Panel for All,” and published on Friday, also indicated an additional decline for the Likud headed by Netanyahu, from 32 seats today to 17 seats, in exchange for an additional rise. The “Official Camp” party, led by Benny Gantz, reached a peak of 42 seats, even though it currently has only 12 seats.

According to this poll, the number of representatives of the ruling right-wing parties today has decreased from 64 to only 42 seats, while the opposition parties have 78 seats, and today they have 56 seats. Citizens were asked which party they would vote for if new elections for the Knesset (Parliament) were held today, and the results were as follows:

The right-wing camp: “Likud” 17 (today it has 32 seats), the “Shas Party for Eastern Religious Jews” 8 (today it has 10 seats), the “United Torah Judaism” party for religious Ashkenazi Jews 7 (currently 7 seats), and “Religious Zionism” led by Bezalel. Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir fall from 14 to 9 seats (Smotrich 4 and Ben Gvir 5 seats).

The opposition camp today: Gantz’s party won 42 seats (it won 40 seats in the previous poll), the “There is a Future” party led by Yair Lapid fell from 24 to 14 seats, the “Israel Our Home” party led by Avigdor Lieberman rose from 6 to 8 seats, and the “Meretz” party » The leftist who failed in the last elections gets 4 seats. In addition to these are the two Arab blocs, the “Democratic Front” and the “Arab Movement for Change” led by Ayman Odeh and Ahmed Tibi (which refuses to be in any government coalition), and the “United Arab List of the Islamic Movement” led by Mansour Abbas (which expresses its willingness to be within the coalition). Government), each of which has five seats.

In response to the question: Who is the most suitable person to be the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu or Benny Gantz? The answers were as follows: Gantz 50 percent (52 percent in the previous poll), Netanyahu 29 percent (26 percent in the previous poll), we don’t know 21 percent.

Israeli TV Channel 12 had published the results of its own poll on Thursday evening, which gave close results (45 for the right-wing camp versus 75 for the opposition). But what is striking about this poll is that the overwhelming support for Minister Benny Gantz is not constant. If, for example, a new party headed by Naftali Bennett enters the battle, Gantz will fall to 25, and Bennett will win 17 seats. If the left-wing Meretz party unites with the Labor Party, the alliance will gain 9 seats, while Gantz will fall to 29, Likud to 16, and Lapid to 16 seats.

In light of these results, it is expected that Likud leaders will take the initiative to postpone the elections as much as possible, and attempt to form a government without Netanyahu in the current Knesset after the war. But this solution is interpreted by Netanyahu as a rebellion against him and his overthrow, and he and his men will fight it with all force.

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