Iran Press/ Middle East: Tens of thousands of Israelis have blocked roads and say they will continue to protest. Protests have escalated in Israel following Monday’s passage of a law to restrict judicial power, a move that critics say threatens democracy.
The survey by Israeli Channel 13 reflected the impact of the coalition passing the law on Monday, despite sustained mass protests, vehement opposition from top judicial, security, economic, and public figures, and thousands of Israeli military reservists vowing to quit service, Time of Israel reported.
Over half of the survey’s respondents - 54% - said they feared the judicial overhaul was harming Israel’s security, and 56% were worried about civil war.
Only 33% of respondents said they believed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s claim that he wants to compromise on the rest of the judicial overhaul legislation.
Fifty-five percent of respondents said leading opposition figures Yair Lapid and Benny Gantz should return to negotiations.
Israel’s opinion polls can often be unreliable but influence politicians and voters.
The Channel 13 survey also tallied support for political parties if a vote was held, although there are no national elections in the offing.
The survey predicted that Gantz’s National Unity party would win 30 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, the most of any party, if elections were held today, surpassing Likud, which ranked next with 25 seats.
A separate poll by Channel 12 on Tuesday also predicted a drop for Netanyahu’s government if elections were held today, with the current coalition parties predicted to receive 53 seats.
One-third of respondents told Channel 12 that the judicial overhaul legislation should be completely halted, 29% said the bills should only move forward if the government reaches an agreement with the opposition, and 22% said the package should go ahead as it is, while the remainder were unsure.
Channel 12’s poll was carried out by the Midgam research firm and had 510 respondents and a margin of error of 4.4%.
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