Netanyahu survived his enemies. Can he survive his own voters?

Netanyahu survived his enemies. Can he survive his own voters?

His loyalists expect another comeback, but former supporters say the spell has broken as the nation heads toward an election
As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fights to retain power, loyalists are crediting him with strengthening the country and defeating its enemies, while former supporters blame his leadership for October 7 and are seeking alternatives on both the left and the right.
With less than a month to go before Israel’s elections, Netanyahu faces an uphill battle to retain power.
But polls show it won’t be an easy task.   conducted by Maariv, one of Israel’s leading newspapers, estimates that his party, Likud, will only win 20 seats out of 120 total in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, a drop of 12 compared with its performance in the 2022 elections.
Sinking ratingsThe decline in Likud’s ratings is hardly surprising. Netanyahu and his government have been blamed for failing to prevent the October 7, 2023 attacks, in which more than 1,200 Israelis were killed and 251 people were taken to Gaza as hostages.
He has also faced criticism for pursuing a series of controversial policies concerning the judiciary and the media; remaining in power amid graft probes that led to charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust; and contributing to Israel’s growing isolation on the international stage.
In Bibi we trustSurprisingly, however, the Maariv poll shows that around 40 percent of respondents still want Netanyahu to remain Prime Minister of Israel.Loyalists offer a long list of Netanyahu’s achievements. For them he is the man who subdued Israel’s enemies, confronted Iran’s nuclear ambitions and strengthened Israel’s position in the region.
Under his leadership, Israel deepened relations with the United States and expanded its diplomatic ties through , normalizing relations with the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Bahrain in 2020. Under him, Israel has also economically, championing a more open, market-oriented economy, privatization and competition, something that has helped to position the state as a global technology hub. 
Foreign Affairs Ministers Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani (Bahrain) and Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan (UAE), Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Israel), and US President Donald Trump sign the Abraham Accords at the White House on September 15, 2020. ©  Alex Wong/Getty Images Naor Shukri, a 56-year-old resident of Haifa, is among those loyalists; he vows to vote for Likud on October 27.
Indeed, October 7 happened during the watch of Netanyahu, and he is also responsible for that failure. But he is not the only one. Many other people, including the Shin Bet [internal spy agency - ed.], the IDF and various politicians, are equally to blame and need to be investigated.
Plus, those events would have happened anyways, regardless of who was running the country. So pinning the blame on Netanyahu is not fair, to say the least, he added.
Read more Shukri is not alone. Yair Avraham, a 65-year-old resident of Tel Aviv, also believes that although Netanyahu failed to prevent the attacks, his subsequent record should be taken into account when assessing his suitability for another term.
In the end of the day, he led a brilliant multi-front campaign against Hamas, Hezbollah of Lebanon, the Houthis of Yemen, the Iraqi militias and the regime of Iran. His achievements were recognized internationally and when you look at the map of the Middle East and compare it to what it was like three years ago, you realize that Israel has only emerged stronger. Our enemies are way weaker.
Both men believe Netanyahu has not received sufficient credit for these and other achievements from the liberal media and the international community. In their view, this reflects an effort to discredit Israel’s actions, replace its right-wing government and hand power to more liberal political circles that they believe would be