A poll conducted for Channel 12 News and published on Friday finds that a majority of Israelis do not agree with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s claim, during a press conference earlier this week, that the previous government is to blame for the recent uptick in terrorist attacks.
The poll found that 58% of respondents disagreed with Netanyahu’s claim, compared to 35% who agreed with the Prime Minister. Among the voters of the bloc that is opposed to Netanyahu - 89% did not agree with the claim, while 58% of voters of the pro-Netanyahu bloc agreed that the previous government was to blame for the situation.
Respondents were also asked which government in their opinion performed better in general, and not only when it comes to the security situation. Of the entire sample, 45% believe that the Bennett-Lapid government performed better, compared to 35% who believe that the Netanyahu government has done a better job overall. Among voters of the pro-Netanyahu bloc - 67% think the current government is functioning better, and among voters of the anti-Netanyahu bloc - 86% preferred the previous government.
On the cost of living, 73% of respondents said they think that the Netanyahu government is handling the economic issue poorly, compared to 21% who think that the government is handling the cost of living well. Of note is that 59% of voters from the pro-Netanyahu bloc and 91% of voters from the anti-Netanyahu bloc believe that the government is not handling this issue well.
Likud voters specifically were asked in the poll which party they would vote for if elections were to be held today. The majority, 52%, said that they would vote for the Likud again, 13% said they would vote for the National Unity Party led by Benny Gantz, 2% would vote for Yair Lapid's Yesh Atid party, 8% would vote for another party in the pro-Netanyahu bloc, 3% claimed that they would vote for another party in the anti-Netanyahu bloc, and 22% replied that they do not know.
Another interesting figure relates to the legislation of the judicial reform, which was promoted by the coalition during the most recent Knesset session. Despite this, most respondents do not think that this is the burning and urgent issue to promote. 74% believe that the government should address the economic crisis as its top priority, and only 19% believe that the judicial reform is more important. The same is true among Likud voters: 59% think the economic crisis is more urgent, compared to 35% who think the judicial reform is the more pressing issue.
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)