The ceasefire agreement between the Palestinian resistance in the Gaza Strip and the Israeli government is threatening the political future of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. A leading Israeli newspaper said today, Friday, that Netanyahu faces a huge of loss support in the upcoming elections.
A survey conducted by the Ma’ariv newspaper reflected widespread Israeli anger over the ceasefire agreement. The survey indicated that Mr Netanyahu’s popularity rating is on the decline because of his mishandling of the offensive and the humiliating terms which brought it to an end.
The Israeli Prime Minister had pledged to eliminate Hamas and restore Israel’s deterrent capability through the war; “but none of that was achieved,” Netanyahu’s supporters believe.
The poll results showed that the new coalition between Likud headed by Netanyahu and the extreme right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu party headed by the Israeli Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, may get just 37 from the 120 seats in the Knesset. This is six seats less when compared with the results of another survey conducted before the offensive.
The same referendum showed that only 31 per cent of Israelis support the terms of the ceasefire, while 49 per cent are against it.