An opinion poll published by the Maariv newspaper on Friday showed that Benjamin Netanyahu has strengthened his political standing as the end of the third week of the military operation carried out by Israel and the United States against Iran approaches.
The results revealed that the Likud Party’s representation in the Knesset increased to 28 seats, an increase of one seat compared to the previous two polls, and two seats more than before the start of the war. On the other hand, the representation of the “Otzma Yehudit” party decreased to 7 seats, recording a decrease of one seat from the previous poll and a decrease of two seats from what it was before the war.
The poll also showed a continued decline in the popularity of Gadi Eisenkot, head of the Yashar! party, as he lost two seats to 11 seats, and Naftali Bennett also fell by one seat to 21 seats.
On the other hand, some opposition parties compensated for these losses, as the representation of the “Israel Our Home” party increased by two seats to reach 10 seats, and the “Yesh Atid” party increased by one seat to reach 8 seats.
The poll indicated that the “Religious Zionism” and “Blue and White” parties were unable to exceed the electoral threshold, as each of them received 2.9%, while the “Reservists” and “Balad” parties each received 1.4%.
Regarding general feeling, 43% of Israelis reported that they feel a high level of personal security in light of the war against Iran and Hezbollah, while 37% described their feeling as “reasonable,” and 20% as low.
The city of Haifa and the northern regions recorded the lowest levels of feeling of safety, with only 33% stating that they felt high security, compared to 37% who considered it reasonable and 30% who described it as low.
When participants were asked about the outcomes that could justify ending the war against Iran, 39% considered regime change in Tehran to be the most important option, while 18% chose the complete destruction of the Iranian nuclear program, and 11% chose the destruction of missile and drone systems.
Regarding Hezbollah, 29% believed that disarming its heavy weapons justified ending the war, while 23% considered its unconditional surrender to be the ideal solution. Among coalition voters, surrender was the most preferred option at 34%, while 35% of opposition voters preferred heavy disarmament.
This survey comes in the context of a major military escalation since late February, which included intense strikes on targets inside Iran, and a continuous exchange of attacks with Hezbollah on the northern front. As operations continue, the political map in Israel appears to be shifting, as Netanyahu and his party benefit from the prevailing wartime climate.
The poll was conducted on March 18 and 19, and included 500 Jewish and Arab adult participants in Israel, and has a margin of error of 4.4%.
