Trump says Netanyahu may quit politics, as poll shows 61% of Israelis want him out |
US President Donald Trump claimed Tuesday that it was an “open question” whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, 76, wants to continue his political career, while a poll showed that over 60 percent of Israelis don’t want the longtime premier to run in the upcoming Knesset election.
Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving leader, who has held power nearly uninterrupted since 2009, has given no indication at all that he will opt out of this fall’s vote and is presumed in Israel to be running for reelection. He is on a campaign footing even as the date of the election, which must take place by October 27, has yet to be officially set.
His leadership is set to be a major issue in the election, with many considering him the main culprit responsible for the strategic failures that preceded Hamas’s onslaught of October 7, 2023, as well as accusing him of divisive political conduct, corruption, and undermining Israel’s democratic institutions.
But many others have granted him ironclad support, hailing his wartime conduct since October 7 and his relationships with Trump and others on the world stage. Netanyahu faced no challengers for the Likud party leadership in November primaries, and is seen as having near-total control over the ruling party’s institutions and lawmakers.
Almost all opinion surveys have consistently shown the bloc of right-wing and religious parties that support him failing to win a Knesset majority, and some surveys have predicted a razor-thin........