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How Do Israelis Really Feel About Benjamin Netanyahu?

US House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Senate Foreign Relations Chair, US Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), listen as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint meeting of Congress at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, July 24, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Craig Hudson

On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke before a joint session of Congress, to near constant and thunderous applause by American lawmakers and their guests.

However, one Republican and some 70 Democrats boycotted the Prime Minister’s speech, including former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and presidential hopeful, Vice President Kamala Harris. (Though Harris said she had already committed to another engagement). Capitol Hill also saw several violent protests, including the burning of American flags.

Some of the lawmakers who skipped the speech claim to be “pro-Israel but anti-Netanyahu,” and claim that many Israelis feel the same. But is that really true?

It is common for the United States to oppose leaders of dictatorships or enemy states, but it is extremely rare to oppose the democratically-elected leader of an ally, regardless of that leader’s local popularity.

Israel’s detractors in America and around the world (as well as many Israelis) frequently quote Israel’s Channel 12 poll indicating that 72% of Israelis want Netanyahu to resign. Yet alone, the headline is misleading: in fact, only 44% of Israelis want the Prime Minister to resign immediately, while 28% want him to resign only after completing the current war in Gaza. The remaining 28% support Netanyahu and would like to see him remain in office.

These figures reveal two important insights: one is that a majority of Israelis (56%) do not want to see a change in leadership until after the current war is complete; the second is that Netanyahu actually has a relatively high degree of support by Israeli standards.

Being accustomed to a two party system, Americans typically see anything less than 50% support as a sign that the public opposes a particular leader. Yet Israel is a multi-party, coalition democracy, where 25% to 30% support is often enough to put a frontrunner ahead of all other contenders.

In fact, if elections were held today, according to another Channel 12 poll, right-leaning former prime minister Naftali Bennett would win with 36% support, while Netanyahu would come in second with 28%. In other words, Netanyahu remains a mainstream political figure with significant support, by Israel’s multi-party standards.

This is not meant to be an endorsement nor a critique of Netanyahu, but merely a sober and unbiased review of the actual math behind the headlines.

The principal Israeli complaint against Netanyahu is that (according to some) he has put the war against Hamas ahead of efforts to return the hostages, perhaps even as a cynical ploy to hold onto power as long as possible. Critics also argue he has mismanaged the war — and did not act decisively enough at the outset or at other pivotal points.

For his part, Netanyahu insists that only military pressure can induce Hamas to agree to a hostage release deal. And recent events back him up. Netanyahu’s critics claim he alone is stopping a deal — but many others, including the US, claim Hamas is the impediment.

In every negotiation, Hamas has agreed to return hostages only in a slow trickle, yet when Israel agreed to this framework last May, Hamas immediately changed the deal, indicating that they would initially return the bodies of dead hostages while still holding on to living hostages until later. Meanwhile, Hamas gave contradictory and changing reports as to how many hostages they could even locate. In other words, based on evidence, it is possible that Israel could give in to every Hamas demand and yet still not necessarily secure the return of the remaining hostages.

Another Israeli complaint against the Prime Minister, including by some IDF commanders, is that Israel can and should agree to end the war against Hamas and may then simply re-enter Gaza later, if necessary. Many other military and political leaders disagree with this. Either way, when Israel signaled last month that it may be open to negotiating an end to the war, Hamas immediately shifted the focus of negotiations, seeking enforcement mechanisms to prevent the IDF from ever breaching the agreement.

To be clear, this is not intended as a critique of complaints by the families of hostages, who are undergoing unimaginable suffering, nor of the IDF commanders, who have performed exceptionally under difficult circumstances, but rather this is meant to be an accurate and unbiased review of the complex and very real challenges that stand in the way of Israel achieving its goals, including the return of the hostages.

Israel is an outspoken democracy where criticizing the government is practically a national sport. While Netanyahu has faced considerable internal criticism, there are actually a variety of nuanced opinions on the complex challenges that Israel is facing. Ultimately, the American headlines that most Israelis oppose Netanyahu is an oversimplification at best, and a broad misreading at worst.

Daniel Pomerantz is the CEO of RealityCheck, an organization dedicated to deepening public conversation through robust research studies and public speaking.

The post How Do Israelis Really Feel About Benjamin Netanyahu? first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War

Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa

Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.

Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.

“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”

GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’

Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.

“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.

“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.

“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.

After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”

RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL

Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”

Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.

“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.

She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”

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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests

A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco

Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.

People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.

“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”

Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.

On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.

Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.

On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.

“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.

Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.

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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan

Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas

Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.

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