Israeli poll puts former defense chief Gantz ahead of Netanyahu

By Abdelraouf Arna'out

JERUSALEM (AA) - A recent Israeli poll said that if elections were held these days, the National Unity party of former Defense Minister Benny Gantz would gain more parliamentary seats than Benjamin Netanyahu's ruling Likud Party.

According to a poll conducted by the research institute Panels Politics for the Maariv newspaper, Gantz's National Unity would win 31 seats, while the Likud comes in second with 25 seats, and the Yesh Atid party of former Prime Minister Yair Lapid comes as the third-largest party with 17 seats.

The poll also showed that 41% of Israelis believe Gantz is more suitable than Premier Netanyahu to serve as the prime minister, versus 33% who say the reverse.

It also indicated that under these results, the current opposition parties gather 67 seats, and the current coalition ones gather 53 seats, giving the opposition the lead in forming the Israeli government.

An Israeli government can be passed through the 120-member Knesset (Israel's parliament) by gaining 61 votes of the lawmakers.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog is leading efforts between the Israeli government coalition and the opposition to reach a settlement over the controversial judicial overhaul plan which has triggered political turmoil and mass protests in the past few weeks.

The Israeli opposition views the plans as a power grab in favor of the executive authority.

Netanyahu, however, insists that his plans would enhance democracy and restore the balance among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the government.

Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption, bowed to pressure and announced a temporary halt to the plans. Despite the delay, the government still plans to bring the controversial bill back to the Knesset this month.

Netanyahu's government was sworn in on Dec. 29, 2022 following the November elections which gave his right-wing bloc a simple majority to form a new government.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara