Khaberni - A poll conducted on Friday showed that 52% of Israelis oppose the candidacy of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - who is wanted by the International Criminal Court - for the upcoming elections to be held in 2026.
According to the poll, whose results were published by Israel's private Channel 12, 41% of Israelis believe that Netanyahu should run in the upcoming elections.
Meanwhile, 7% of those surveyed abstained from expressing their opinion on Netanyahu's candidacy, who announced about a week ago his intention to run in the upcoming elections.
The poll indicated that half of the supporters of the right-wing camp do not know who could replace Netanyahu in leading the camp if he decides not to run.
The channel did not mention the entity that conducted the poll or any further details about its results and other questions posed to the respondents.
Earlier on Friday, another poll - the results of which were published by Maariv newspaper - showed a decline of two seats for Netanyahu's coalition in the Knesset (parliament), reaching 50 seats if elections were held today.
According to the law in Israel, forming the government requires the support of at least 61 members of the 120-member Knesset.
The poll results noted that despite the weakness of the ruling coalition, the opposition camp obtained 59 seats without achieving a majority, while the Arab parties won 11 seats.
Opposition parties confirm their refusal to enter into any alliance with the Arab parties to form a government.
Last week, the official broadcasting authority spoke about Netanyahu's plans to advance the general election date to June 2026, instead of November 3 of the same year, although no official announcement has yet been made.
In Israel, the government can, at the recommendation of the Prime Minister, declare the dissolution of the Knesset and head to early elections, as the decision requires the approval of the Israeli President.
Netanyahu has held the position of Prime Minister in five non-consecutive terms, becoming the longest-serving in this position in Israel's history, despite the many corruption cases that have been trailing him for years.
In addition to his local trial, on November 21, 2024, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against him on charges of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
