Poll: Netanyahu's party most popular

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Likud party’s popularity has risen for the first time in since the beginning of the year, gaining strength over the centrist rival Yesh Atid, a poll by Israel’s Channel 2 found.

The poll, commissioned by Channel 2‘s “Meet the Press,” predicted that were elections to be held at this time, Likud would win 28 Knesset seats, while Yesh Atid, headed by the former Israeli Finance Minister Yair Lapid, would receive 24. Likud currently has 30 seats, while Yesh Atid has 11.

According to the survey results, the Joint Arab List would come at third steady at 13 seats, followed by the Zionist Union dropping to 12 seats, from its current 24, and the Jewish Home party, Bayit Yehudi, rising from eight to 10.

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Commenting on Netanyahu’s performance as prime minister, the poll, in which a representative sample of 503 Israelis were questioned, showed that 61 per cent of the public were not satisfied with the government performance, while 33 per cent were satisfied. The remaining six per cent of the participants did not respond to the question.

According to a previous Midgam poll published last March on Israel’s Channel 10, the ruling Likud won 22 Knesset seats, down from its current 30, while Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party received 26 seats.

In response to Sunday’s survey, Netanyahu attacked the media, accusing press of deliberately “downplaying” public opinion polling data that favoured his Likud party and that noted to the party’s victory in future elections, according to Haaretz.

Netanyahu is currently under investigation in at least two corruption cases. The first case, Known as “Case 1000,” involves illegal gifts worth hundreds of thousands of dollars received by Netanyahu and his family.

The second corruption case, dubbed “Case 2,000,” relates to audio recordings of lengthy meetings between Netanyahu and Arnon Mozes, the owner of the Yedioth Ahronoth media group which includes Israel’s largest paid-for newspaper, in which he reportedly offered favourable coverage to help Netanyahu stay in power and even suggested that his company would hire journalists of the prime minister’s choosing. In return, Mozes is said to have asked Netanyahu to promote legislation to end the free distribution of a popular rival daily, Israel Hayom, forcing it to become a paid-for title.