The survey also found that if elections were held today, the ruling coalition would win a 66-seat majority.
According to the latest Direct Polls survey, conducted by Shlomo Filber in the wake of the release on Monday of the remaining 20 living hostages held in Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s approval ratings are at their highest since the elections in Nov. 2022.
The results of the poll were published on Wednesday by Israel’s Channel 14. Where suitability to serve as prime minister is concerned, the poll revealed that 58% of Israelis favor Netanyahu; 22% favor his closest rival, Naftali Bennett; and 11% favor former minister-without-portfolio (and former Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff) Gadi Eizenkot; 4% favor opposition leader and former prime minister Yair Lapid; 4% favor Yisrael Beiteinu Party leader Avigdor Liberman; and 1% favor National Unity Party head Benny Gantz.
The poll also found that if elections were held today, Netanyahu’s ruling coalition would win a 66-seat majority, four more seats than it won in the 2022 elections; opposition parties would garner 43 seats; and the anti-Zionist Arab parties would receive 11 seats.