JERUSALEM: Only 15 per cent of Israelis want Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stay in office after the Gaza crisis subsides, though many more still support his strategy in the Palestinian enclave, according to a poll published on Tuesday.

Netanyahu has said such intense military pressure is also vital to ensure that the remaining 129 prisoners still held in Gaza are returned after around 100 were freed in late November in a swap deal also involving hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

In the poll conducted by the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI), 56 per cent of those questioned said continuing the military offensive was the best way to recover the prisoners, while 24 per cent thought a swap deal including the release of thousands more Palestinian prisoners from Israel’s jails would be best.

But a mere 15 per cent want Netanyahu to be prime minister once the crisis is over, the poll showed. His political rival and present cabinet partner, centrist Benny Gantz, garnered support from 23 per cent of interviewees.

Published in Dawn, January 3rd, 2024