JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pushing to hold this year's Knesset elections as late as allowed amid possibly increasing concerns within his ruling Likud party over the outcome. Netanyahu currently faces multiple challenges, including grim public opinion polls, two popular rivals, public anger over his support for the ultra-Orthodox parties, and a US president who appears to be turning against him. Meanwhile, no one has emerged to oppose him for leadership of the Likud, leaving the party’s future dependent on his fate.

Declining support among the base

As Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, Netanyahu has been in power for almost 20 years total. During that time, he repeatedly overcame adversity, most recently the disastrous failures enabling and surrounding Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack in southern Israel, which many believed would spell the end of his career at the time. Instead, Netanyahu and his associates sought to shift responsibility away from the prime minister and place the blame solely on the security agencies. Today, however, with elections scheduled for no later than Oct. 27, his prospects have dimmed according to overall public opinion and, in recent weeks, also among his long-time loyal political base.

The downward trend in Netanyahu's popularity has been reflected in polls conducted by Channel 14, which is considered his home turf. According to the latest Channel 14 poll, published June 4, the Likud has lost four seats in the past two months, polling at 32 Knesset seats out of 120. A Channel 12 News poll published June 5 also indicated declining support for Netanyahu and the Likud, with the party projected to win only 23 seats.