Israeli poll shows Eisenkot widening lead over Netanyahu as preferred prime minister

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fell further behind former Army Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot in a new opinion poll released Monday, with the opposition politician widening his lead in public perceptions of who is better suited to head the government. The Channel 12 survey found that 45% of respondents considered Eisenkot better suited to serve as prime minister compared with 33% for Netanyahu, widening the gap to 12 percentage points from 10 in the previous poll. The findings come just eight days before Israel’s Oct. 27 parliamentary elections, with Eisenkot’s Yashar party also projected to emerge as the largest in the 120-seat Knesset. Yashar was projected to win 24 seats, ahead of Netanyahu’s Likud with 21, according to the survey. Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s Together party followed with 14 seats, while Yair Golan’s Democrats and the Arab-led Joint List were projected to secure nine each. Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu party, the ultra-Orthodox Shas party and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Jewish Power party were each projected to win eight seats. The poll put Jewish-led parties opposing Netanyahu at 55 seats, up two from the previous survey, compared with 51 for his governing coalition. The two Arab parties were projected to secure another 14 seats, bringing the total for parties outside Netanyahu’s bloc to 69, although their inclusion in a future governing coalition remains uncertain. In a separate question on suitability for prime minister, Bennett also led Netanyahu, with 39% favoring the former prime minister against 34% for Netanyahu. Another 22% considered neither suitable. The survey also examined the impact of US President Donald Trump’s public endorsement of Netanyahu ahead of the elections. Some 64% of respondents said Trump’s backing would make no difference to their vote, while 17% said it made them less likely to support Likud. Only 12% said the endorsement strengthened their support for Netanyahu’s party. Trump endorsed Netanyahu on Sunday, praising his leadership and partnership with Washington, particularly in confronting Iran.