About 85 percent of Israelis have little or no trust in government: Poll

About 64 percent of respondents believe Israel faces an existential threat, and 65 percent have not been sleeping well since the outbreak of the war, it said.

At least 73 percent of Israelis have grown anxious in the past six months.

As Israel continues its military onslaught on the Gaza Strip, Netanyahu’s party popularity continues to decline, with a recent opinion survey favoring the National Unity Party led by Benny Gantz to take over the Knesset, the parliament.

A poll published in early April by the Israeli daily newspaper Maariv highlights a consistent decline in the Likud Party’s popularity, led by Netanyahu, similar to previous polls conducted after Oct. 7, 2023, the date the devastating war on Gaza commenced.

The latest poll, conducted by Lazar Institute on a random sample of 528 Israelis with an estimated error rate of 4.4%, showed that if elections were held today, the National Unity party would secure 32 seats in the 120-seat Knesset up from its current 12 seats.

In contrast, the poll indicated that the Likud party would only secure 17 seats, down from its current 32 in the parliament.

The opposition Yesh Atid party led by opposition leader Yair Lapid would obtain 15 seats, the poll said.

Meanwhile, the opposition New Hope party led by Gideon Sa’ar, which withdrew from the National Unity party, would obtain four seats.

The opinion poll showed the group supporting Netanyahu would win 44 seats, while the group against him would win 66 seats.

To form a government in Israel, at least 61 votes are required in the Knesset. This suggests that if elections were held today, Netanyahu would not be able to form a government.

Given Netanyahu’s reluctance to hold early elections, there is no imminent prospect of a vote in Israel.

The poll also showed that 42% of participants support holding elections now, while 50% say that elections must be held after the war.

Regarding the protests demanding a hostage exchange deal with Hamas, 46% of the participants considered that the escalation of protests “does not promote” the return of Israeli hostages, while 31% of the protests supported the escalation, at a time when 23% did not specify their opinions.

Lapid has recently labeled Netanyahu and his government as an “existential threat” to Israel.

“If we don’t move this government, it will bring destruction upon us,” Lapid wrote on social media platform X in mid-April.