Netanyahu in closed talks: Likud will lose election unless situation changes

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said in closed-door talks that his Likud party will lose the next Knesset (parliament) election unless the situation changes.

He acknowledged that the party had lost 10 seats and said he did not know how to regain them, according to Hebrew-language media.

The Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported on Wednesday that Netanyahu made the remarks during recent closed-door talks, ahead of the general election scheduled for 27 October.

Kan quoted Netanyahu as saying: “We have lost 10 seats, and I don’t know how to get them back.”

Netanyahu has also been unable to determine what kind of election campaign he should run, and believes that “Likud will lose the next election unless something changes”, the broadcaster reported.

According to Kan, Netanyahu’s comments showed that he doubts opinion polls that favour him and believes his party’s position is worse than the polls suggest.

In response to a request for comment from Kan, Likud said: “Fake news. You are looking at the wrong polls. Likud, under the leadership of Benjamin Netanyahu, will win the election.”

Opinion polls have shown Likud losing support as the Yashar party, led by former Israeli military chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot, gains ground, while polls conducted by groups close to the Israeli right have shown more favourable results for Netanyahu.

Earlier on Wednesday, a poll by Israel’s private Channel 13 showed that if elections were held today, Eisenkot’s party would win 24 seats, down two from the channel’s previous poll last week.