Poll shows 66% of Israelis want Netanyahu to quit and not run again

Two-thirds of the Israeli public favours Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leaving politics and not running for a new term, according to an opinion poll.

The poll was conducted on Friday by the Israeli private Channel 12, which showed that 66 percent of respondents want Netanyahu, 74, to retire and not run for a seventh term as prime minister.

Twenty-seven percent of respondents support him staying in power and running for a new term.

Another poll by the Maariv newspaper had Benny Gantz, who heads the National Unity Party, beating Netanyahu for the prime minister post.

Given Netanyahu's reluctance to hold early elections, there are no imminent prospects of a vote in Israel, which has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal war on besieged Gaza since October.

Persistent protests

Netanyahu has been facing wide protests in Israel since October 7 Hamas blitz caught his far-right regime and intelligence agencies off guard and demolishing their prestige. Protesters have been pressing him to strike a hostage-prisoner swap deal with the Palestinian resistance group Hamas and end the war in besieged Gaza.

But even before he started the genocidal war in Gaza, Netanyahu faced wide protests over his controversial plans for a judicial overhaul.

Opponents of his plan argued that the overhaul would upset the country's fragile system of checks and balances and concentrate power in the hands of corruption-tainted Netanyahu and his allies, igniting weekly protests against Netanyahu.

The war on Gaza made matters worse for him, with now thousands of Israelis and many political opponents calling for his resignation.

Israel's war on Gaza, now in its 267th day, has killed at least 37,765 Palestinians — mostly women and children –– and wounded 86,429, with 10,000+ believed to be buried under the debris of bombed homes and 9,500 abducted by Tel Aviv.

Tel Aviv reduced most of Gaza to ruins, while causing a massive shortage of basic necessities like water, food, electricity and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its military invasion in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.