Most Israelis believe that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is more interested in remaining in power than winning the war or freeing hostages, according to a poll conducted by an Israeli broadcast channel that aired on Friday night. The responses remained the same when the hostage release option was swapped out for “winning the war.”
Asked why there has not been another hostage deal, 53 per cent of respondents cited political reasons, while 38 per cent said legitimate reasons, and 9 per cent were unsure. On being asked whether Netanyahu generally managed to convince them in his press conference this week, 62 per cent of respondents said he did not, 34 per cent said he did, and 4 per cent were unsure.
Asked whether they believed Netanyahu when he said that he didn’t know about his top aides work on behalf of Qatar, which is being investigated by police in a case known as the “Qatargate scandal," 58 per cent said they do not, 30 per cent said they do and 12 per cent said they weren’t sure. Among coalition voters, 58 per cent said they believe him and 27 per cent said they do not. The results also suggest that half of the respondents think there is a possibility the government could cancel the elections scheduled for next year by claiming a national emergency, versus 35 per cent who do not believe that could happen. The question about elections was included after Netanyahu was asked during Wednesday’s press conference why he has not resigned because of the failures surrounding the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, or called elections to seek a renewed mandate from the public.
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“I am already being held accountable by the public every day. Every week, there’s the possibility of a no-confidence vote. And once a no-confidence vote passes, the public has already made its decision. That will also happen in elections when the time comes,” he said in response.
“Do you want elections now?” he asked. “Do you want me to list what we’re up against right now? Is that what we need—a commission of inquiry right now, when all our soldiers and commanders will be running around dressing up as lawyers instead of arming themselves with artillery shells and tank munitions?" Now, “in the middle of a war,” is not the time, argued Netanyahu. On Friday, he denied that he would seek to push off the elections.
“I hope the elections are held as scheduled, and I will do everything so they don’t happen before then. But one thing I can tell you — they won’t take place after the scheduled date. This won’t happen. You know why? Because we are democrats. We believe the public has the right to choose, unlike our rivals and others,” he said in a video statement. “The elections will be held as scheduled, not later. That is nonsense,” Netanyahu added.
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