Israel's Netanyahu rapidly losing popularity, new poll shows

The Prime Minister's troubles come amid soaring regional tensions, which the opposition accuses him of aggravating

A banner depicts Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich during a demonstration against the government's judicial overhaul in Tel Aviv. ReutersShow less

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party would lose 12 seats if an election was held today, a low that the party has not seen in almost two decades, according to a poll released by Israeli news outlet Channel 12.

Coalition partners would also lose a significant share of the vote, giving the government a total of just 46 seats, well below the 61 needed to secure a majority. Today’s coalition currently holds 64 seats.

According to the poll, opposition party National Unity, headed by Benny Gantz, would more than double its presence in parliament with a total of 29 seats, almost as much as Likud’s current tally of 32.

The devastating figures come as Mr Netanyahu faces serious questions from both politicians and the public over his handling of Israel’s current security crisis and his divisive push for judicial reforms that have sparked the largest protest movement in Israeli history.

Anger has been rising at home and abroad over Israel’s treatment last week of Muslim worshippers who barricaded themselves inside the prayer hall of Al Aqsa Mosque.

• 

  Palestinians clean up Al Aqsa Mosque compound after Israeli police stormed the site. Reuters

• 

  Palestinians clear the damaged furniture from the mosque compound. Reuters

• 

  Israeli police say the attack was in response to rioting. Reuters

• 

  Palestinian worshippers pray as Israeli police officials stand guard at Al Aqsa Mosque compound. AP

• 

  A worshipper sweeps the debris in the aftermath of the attack by Israeli police. AP

• 

  Israeli Border Police near the Damascus Gate. AP

• 

  The operation by Israeli police has been condemned across the region. Reuters

• 

  Palestinians pray inside Al Aqsa Mosque compound. Reuters

• 

  A Palestinian worshipper is led away by Israeli police at Al Aqsa Mosque compound. AP

• 

  A Palestinian worshipper is surrounded by Israeli policemen at the compound. Reuters

The worshippers said they were defending the holy site from Israeli settlers seeking access to the sacred area on which the mosque sits.

Israeli officials say that they were rioting and stockpiling weapons to use against settlers.

Al Aqsa is the third holiest site in Islam, while Jews revere the site as the location of biblical era temples.

On Sunday, Israeli Police commissioner Kobi Shabtai defended police actions to clear the site but admitted that officers used “a little too much force”.

The scenes led to soaring tensions with Palestinians and rocket attacks from militant groups in Lebanon, Syria and the Gaza Strip on Thursday, prompting retaliatory strikes from Israel.

On Monday, two Israeli soldiers were wounded by gunfire in the flashpoint West Bank city of Nablus, the military said.

Later, a Palestinian was killed during an Israeli military raid near the West Bank city of Jericho, the Palestinian health ministry said.

Also on Monday, the mother of two British-Israeli sisters killed in a shooting in the occupied West Bank on Friday died from injuries sustained in the attack.

Later in the day, an Italian tourist died in a car ramming in Tel Aviv. Seven others were injured, all tourists.

A man inspects damage at his house left by a rocket following Israeli air strikes in Al Qulaylah, on the outskirts of the city of Tyre, south of the Lebanese capital Beirut on April 7. AFP

Opposition leader Yair Lapid said he was “even more worried” about the situation after attending a security briefing on Sunday at the Prime Minister's invitation.

In a televised statement, Mr Lapid, whose Yesh Atid party is also lagging in support according to Channel 12's poll, said Mr Netanyahu “needs to announce that he has taken the firing of Defence Minister Yoav Gallant off the table, to admit that he cannot rely on his Cabinet and to create a small, stable security forum to deal with the situation”.

“What our enemies see in front of them, in all arenas, is an incompetent government. A cabinet no one trusts,” he said.

Mr Netanyahu said he was firing Mr Gallant after the defence minister said publicly last month that the judicial reforms posed a “tangible” threat to national security, citing threats from a growing number of elite Israeli reservists to boycott service in protest and growing intelligence that Israel’s enemies were seeking to exploit the domestic turmoil.

• 

  Israeli police officials detain a protester during clashes after a demonstration against the government's judicial overhaul in Tel Aviv. Getty

• 

  Mounted police disperse protesters in Tel Aviv. AP

• 

  Protesters stand with their arms up as police fire a water cannon in Tel Aviv. Reuters

• 

  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stands on the floor of the Knesset, the country's parliament in Jerusalem. AFP

• 

  Mounted police officers outside Israel's parliament in Jerusalem. AFP

• 

  Security guards prevent a protester from entering the parliament building. AP

• 

  Opposition leader and former prime minister Yair Lapid speaks outside the parliament in Jerusalem. AFP

• 

  Israelis scuffles with police outside the parliament in Jerusalem. AP

• 

  Israeli flags being waved outside the parliament in Jerusalem. Bloomberg

• 

  Protesters hold up Israeli flags and placards at the Knesset. AFP

• 

  Passengers wait for their flights during a strike at the Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv. AFP

• 

  Travellers look at a monitor displaying delayed flights. Reuters

• 

  Protesters hold flags aloft in Jerusalem. Reuters

• 

  Flights from Israel's main Ben Gurion Airport were suspended as a general strike against the government's plans spread across several sectors. AP

• 

  Demonstrators are demanding that the government ditches the judicial shake-up after protests overnight in which about 600,000 people took to the streets of Israel. AP

• 

  Protesters gather outside the Knesset as part of mass protests in Jerusalem. EPA

• 

  Israeli police use water cannon to disperse demonstrators blocking a road in Tel Aviv. AP

• 

  The protesters in Tel Aviv hold Israeli flags as they gather around a bonfire. AFP

• 

  Tens of thousands of Israelis took to the streets after Mr Netanyahu fired his Mr Gallant for objecting to the judicial reforms. AFP

• 

  Demonstrations erupted in January after the coalition government announced its package of changes. AFP

• 

  Thousands of protesters clash with the police as they block a highway in Tel Aviv. AFP

• 

  A protester shouts anti-government slogans in Jerusalem after Israel's Defence Minister was dismissed. Reuters

• 

  Demonstrators outside Mr Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem. AFP

• 

  Members of security forces form a barricade to prevent protesters from blocking a road in Tel Aviv. Reuters

• 

  A violent scene during a rally in Tel Aviv. AFP

• 

  Protesters rampage through the streets in Tel Aviv. AFP

• 

  Police use a water cannon on violent protesters in Tel Aviv. AFP

• 

  Israelis block a road in Tel Aviv. AP

Mr Gallant has still not formally been removed from his position, and appeared alongside the prime minister during a visit to the scene of Friday's shooting in the northern West Bank.

The damaging poll results come as more cracks appear within the coalition, the most right-wing in Israeli history.

On Monday, seven government ministers staged a march through the West Bank, including far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir, according to Channel 12.

Security officials have privately warned that the march will further strain Israeli forces in the area, which they say are already “stretched thin”.

The route of the march passes close to the Palestinian town of Huwara, where Israeli settlers went on a rampage in February, setting fire to Arab homes and property, after two Israeli brothers were killed outside the town earlier.

Mr Smotrich drew worldwide condemnation for later calling for the town to be “wiped out”, and subsequently apologised for his comments.

The Finance Minister, who heads the Religious Zionism party, joined forces with Mr Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit party during the last elections.

They won 14 seats, and joined Mr Netanyahu’s coalition to much criticism among liberal Israelis given the pair’s far-right manifestos.

Following his meeting with Mr Netanyahu on Sunday, Mr Lapid labelled Mr Ben-Gvir a “TikTok clown who has lost the trust of the police” and called on the prime minister to remove Mr Smotrich from a second position he holds in the Defence Ministry.

Channel 12’s poll on Sunday also showed declining public support for the far-right alliance, which the broadcaster said would lose three seats in an election.

The survey gathered data from 699 respondents, 100 of whom were not Jewish.

Two other polls published at the end of March also predicted a drop in support for Likud, and a surge in popularity for National Unity.