Ma'ariv: Half of Israelis believe there is "internal betrayal" on October 7 - Sarmad

A poll conducted by the Hebrew-language newspaper Ma’ariv revealed that nearly half of Israelis, particularly supporters of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition, believe there was an “internal betrayal” on October 7.

Forty percent of respondents said such an event had occurred, compared to 44 percent who denied it, and 16 percent who expressed uncertainty, reflecting a sharp divide that mirrors the political polarization in the occupied territories.

The poll revealed clear partisan differences: 61 percent of coalition voters believe in an “internal betrayal,” while 64 percent of opposition voters reject this claim.

The results showed that the alliance between the Religious Zionism party, led by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, and the Otzma Yehudit party, led by Moshe Feiglin, enabled them to surpass the electoral threshold by five seats. Meanwhile, the Yisrael Beiteinu party, led by Avigdor Lieberman, cleared the threshold by four seats, raising Netanyahu’s coalition to 51 seats for the first time since May, while the opposition fell to 57 seats.

In a poll on suitability for the premiership, the gap between Gadi Eisenkot and Netanyahu narrowed, with Eisenkot receiving 48 percent support compared to 39 percent for Netanyahu. Naftali Bennett surpassed Netanyahu with 43 percent versus 39 percent, while Avigdor Lieberman trailed slightly behind Netanyahu, with 39 percent compared to 42 percent. Meanwhile, a majority of 55 percent expressed fear of a new war with Iran, while 39 percent were not concerned about this possibility.