52% of Israelis don’t think Netanyahu should be offered plea bargain – poll

As Prime Minister Netanyahu enters the first of his four days of indictment hearings, a monthly survey conducted by the Guttman Center at the Israel Democracy Institute found that 52% of Israelis do not think that Netanyahu should be offered a plea bargain in which he would admit to charges against him and retire from public life without standing trial. 58% of Israelis do not think that Netanyahu would agree to such a deal if it were offered.

The poll also found that a majority of Israelis prefer a unity government as opposed to a third round of elections. 64% of Jewish Israelis prefer a unity government compared to only 15% who prefer new elections. 33% of Arab Israelis prefer a unity government, 17% new elections, and 50% have no clear preference.

The study also found that after the elections there was a rise in the rate of opposition, among the Jewish public, to the inclusion of Arab parties in the government and to the appointment of Arab ministers.

The rate of Arabs who are satisfied with the results is higher than the rate of Jews who are pleased with them (56.5% vs. 31%). Among the Jews the gaps between the different political camps are very large and the voters for the parties of the center and the left are much more satisfied with the election results than the voters for the right-wing parties.

74% of Jewish Israelis oppose including Arab parties in the government or appointing an Arab minister – up significantly from January 2019 when opposition stood at 49%. Among Arab Israelis support for inclusion in the government has declined to 66% – down from 76% in January 2019.