Netanyahu suffers massive loss of faith from Israelis - poll

The poll puts opposition parties at a vast majority with 78 seats compared to the coalition's 42.

 Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu makes a statement to the media inside The Kirya, which houses the Israeli Ministry of Defense, after a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday Oct. 12, 2023. (photo credit: Jacquelyn Martin/Pool via REUTERS)
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu makes a statement to the media inside The Kirya, which houses the Israeli Ministry of Defense, after a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday Oct. 12, 2023.
(photo credit: Jacquelyn Martin/Pool via REUTERS)

Benny Gantz's National Unity party leads Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud by 22 seats in Maariv's latest dramatic poll which is its first since the war with Hamas broke out on Saturday.

In the last week, Gantz's party gained 12 seats while the Likud lost nine. Yesh Atid lost one seat, Shas lost three, and the Religious Zionist Party lost two. Meanwhile, Itamar Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit party gained one seat.

This puts the opposition parties at a vast majority with 78 seats compared to the coalition's 42.

 Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid speaks with former defence minister Benny Gantz at the Knesset, Israel's parliament. (credit: REUTERS/AMIR COHEN)
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid speaks with former defence minister Benny Gantz at the Knesset, Israel's parliament. (credit: REUTERS/AMIR COHEN)

The poll also showed that Israelis were not happy with Netanyahu's management of the war with him only being given an approval score of 4.2 out of 10. He was awarded only one point from 42% of respondents.

Only 29% of people thought that Netanyahu is still qualified to be prime minister with 48% preferring Gantz. Only a fifth of respondents said they would still want Netanyahu to be prime minister when the war ends with no one from National Unity or Yesh Atid saying they would still want Netanyahu then.

Meanwhile, 71% of Israelis trust the IDF to succeed in the war with the highest rate of trust coming from the Likud (86%).