Majority of Israelis say Netanyahu failed in Iran war, new poll finds
Survey shows 56.4% rate prime minister's handling of the conflict as poor, while 92% believe Iran emerged victorious
WASHINGTON (MNTV) — A clear majority of Israelis believe Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mishandled the war against Iran, according to a new opinion poll published Sunday, with public confidence in his leadership falling sharply since the conflict began.
The survey, conducted by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem between June 17 and 20 among 3,644 participants and published by The Times of Israel, found that 56.4% of respondents rated Netanyahu’s performance during the war as either a “failure” or “poor,” while just 26.5% viewed it positively.
The findings paint a broader picture of public disillusionment with the war’s outcome. Some 92.1% of respondents said they believed Iran had emerged victorious from the conflict, and 82.9% said the war had weakened Israel’s long-term security. Nearly nine in ten — 87.8% — said Israel had either failed to achieve the objectives it set out to accomplish, or had fulfilled only some of them.
A further 72.5% said they did not believe Netanyahu’s assertions that Israel had achieved significant gains and eliminated an existential threat.
The political damage to Netanyahu appears substantial. His support as preferred prime minister dropped from 40.5% in March to 29.4% in June, a fall of more than eleven percentage points over the course of the conflict.
On the question of Lebanon, the poll revealed a more hawkish public mood: 48.2% of respondents backed renewing major military action against Hezbollah even at the risk of a confrontation with the Trump administration, while 20.9% opposed such a move and the remainder declined to express a view.
The poll was published as talks between the U.S. and Iran opened at the Burgenstock resort in Switzerland under the framework of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, which is intended to pave the way for a permanent end to the conflict. The memorandum includes provisions aimed at ending hostilities on all fronts including Lebanon, reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and lifting the U.S. naval blockade imposed on Iran.
Israel and the US launched their war against Iran on February 28. A temporary ceasefire was announced on April 8, before Tehran and Washington signed the memorandum of understanding last week.
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