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(https://rumcdn.geoedge.be/f7ae3efe-f9e8-44be-8cf9-3b564afd5f4b/grumi-ip.js)  (https://widgets.outbrain.com/outbrain.js)  (https://btloader.com/tag?o=5119785225420800&upapi=true)  (https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id=GTM-T4BJGTM)   (../manifest.json)  (../../images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/Icons/PNG/jp-favicon-16.png)  (../../images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/Icons/PNG/jp-favicon-32.png)  (../../images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/Icons/PNG/jp-favicon-192.png)  (https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/f_auto,fl_lossy/Icons/PNG/jp-favicon-180.png)  (https://fonts.gstatic.com)  (https://www.googletagservices.com/tag/js/gpt.js)  Large percentage of Israelis believe October 7 betrayal conspiracy, poll finds | The Jerusalem Post      (article-907575.html)                     (Jerusalem Post) (https://www.jpost.com/) (The Jerusalem Post - Israel News) (The Jerusalem Post - Israel News)    (CONFERENCES) (https://www.jpost.com/conferences) CONFERENCES  (ISRAEL NEWS) (https://www.jpost.com/israel-news) ISRAEL NEWS  (WORLD NEWS) (https://www.jpost.com/international) WORLD NEWS  (MIDDLE EAST) (https://www.jpost.com/middle-east) MIDDLE EAST  (BUSINESS & INNOVATION) (https://www.jpost.com/business-and-innovation) BUSINESS & INNOVATION  (DEFENSE & TECH) (https://defense-and-tech.jpost.com/) DEFENSE & TECH  (OPINION) (https://www.jpost.com/opinion) OPINION  (JP STORE) (https://store.jpost.com/) JP STORE   (https://www.jpost.com/PayWalllogin) Login    (Search) ()           (https://www.jpost.com/PayWalllogin) Login (https://payments.jpost.com/paywall/paywallpersonaldetails) Subscribe    (https://www.jpost.com/magazineprint/digitallibrary) JPOST DIGITAL LIBRARY  (https://www.jpost.com/) HOME PAGE  (https://www.jpost.com/jerusalem-report) THE JERUSALEM REPORT  (https://defense-and-tech.jpost.com/) DEFENSE & TECH  (https://www.jpost.com/tags/education) JPOST HIGHER EDUCATION  (https://www.jpost.com/opinion) OPINION  BUSINESS & INNOVATION      (https://realestate.jpost.com/) REAL ESTATE LISTINGS  (https://www.jpost.com/aliyah) ALIYAH  (https://www.jpost.com/conferences) JERUSALEM POST CONFERENCE  PREMIUM      (https://store.jpost.com/) JP STORE  Categories  ISRAEL NEWS      WORLD NEWS      MIDDLE EAST      (https://www.jpost.com/american-politics) US POLITICS  DIASPORA      (https://www.jpost.com/opinion) OPINION  PODCAST      JUDAISM      (https://www.jpost.com/kabbalah) KABBALAH  CHRISTIAN WORLD      HEALTH & WELLNESS      (https://www.jpost.com/science) SCIENCE  (https://www.jpost.com/law) LAW  ARCHAEOLOGY      (https://www.jpost.com/omg) OMG  (https://www.jpost.com/environment-and-climate-change) ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE  (https://www.jpost.com/food-recipes) FOOD & RECIPES  (https://www.jpost.com/history) HISTORY   (https://www.jpost.com/special-content) SPONSORED CONTENT  (https://www.jpost.com/advertise) ADVERTISE WITH US  (https://www.jpost.com/landedpages/termsofservice.aspx) TERMS OF USE  (https://www.jpost.com/landedpages/privacypolicy.aspx) PRIVACY POLICY  (https://www.jpost.com/contactus) CONTACT US  (https://www.jpost.com/customer-service/cancel-subscription) CANCEL SUBSCRIPTION  (https://www.jpost.com/customer-service) CUSTOMER SERVICE  (https://www.jpost.com/landedpages/aboutus.aspx) ABOUT US       (https://www.jpost.com/) Jerusalem Post /  (https://www.jpost.com/israel-election-2026) Israel Election 2026   'October 7 treason?' 40% of Israelis believe there was 'betrayal from within' during massacre 16% of those polled unsure if there was a 'betrayal,' 40% believe there was not • Smotrich-Feiglin merger, launch of Winter's People of Israel boosted coalition to 51 seats, its strongest since May.  (Share)         (https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=https://www.jpost.com/)      Follow us on Google     (Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a ceremony commemorating Israel’s Remembrance Day for fallen soldiers, or Yom HaZikaron, at the Military Cemetery on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem April 21, 2026.) (Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a ceremony commemorating Israel’s Remembrance Day for fallen soldiers, or Yom HaZikaron, at the Military Cemetery on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem April 21, 2026.)   Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a ceremony commemorating Israel’s Remembrance Day for fallen soldiers, or Yom HaZikaron, at the Military Cemetery on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem April 21, 2026. (photo credit: ILIA YEFIMOVICH/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo )    By MOSHE COHEN    SEPTEMBER 4, 2026 08:20  Updated:  SEPTEMBER 4, 2026 10:00   Almost half of Israelis, particularly those aligned with parties that form Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition, believe that there was a "betrayal from within" conspiracy around the morning of October 7, 2023, a poll published by Maariv on Friday found.  Out of the respondents, a slight plurality, at 44%, believed that there was no "betrayal from within," while 40% believed such an event did occur, and 16% said they were unsure.   The poll also broke down these results by political affiliation, with 61% of coalition voters believing there was an "betrayal from within," while 64% of opposition voters believed there was no such event.  Smotrich-Feiglin merger, launch of Winter's People of Israel, boosts PM's coalition to highest point since May  Meanwhile, the alliance between (https://www.jpost.com/israel-election-2026/article-907259) Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's Religious Zionist Party and Moshe Feiglin's Zehut pushed them above the 3.25% electoral threshold, gaining five seats, the poll also found.  The Ofer Winter-led (https://www.jpost.com/israel-election-2026/article-907373) People of Israel party also passed the threshold with four seats, boosting Netanyahu's coalition to 51 seats in the poll for the first time since May.   (Gadi Eisenkot, leader of Yashar party and a former IDF chief of staff, speaks during an election campaign rally in Nordiya, Israel, Thursday, Aug. 31, 2026.)  Gadi Eisenkot, leader of Yashar party and a former IDF chief of staff, speaks during an election campaign rally in Nordiya, Israel, Thursday, Aug. 31, 2026. (credit: GILI YAARI/FLASH90)    In contrast, the opposition bloc fell by two seats to 57, driven by a two-seat weakening of (https://www.jpost.com/israel-election-2026/article-907531) Gadi Eisenkot 's Yashar party. The Arab parties also lost one seat as compared to last week's poll.  This raises serious doubts about whether the opposition can form a government without the help of another party, as it has moved four seats away from the 61-seat majority needed.  However, RZP and People of Israel are still in danger of failing to pass the threshold, which could heavily change the picture.   Who is the most suitable prime minister?  The poll also queried respondents on who is most suitable to be prime minister following the election.  The latest poll found that the gap between Eisenkot and Netanyahu narrowed as compared to previous weeks, with Eisenkot being supported by 48% of respondents as compared to 39% who would support Netanyahu out of the two.   Former prime minister and leader of B'Yachad, Naftali Bennett, is also viewed as more suitable to be PM than Netanyahu, with 43% of those surveyed supporting him, as compared with 39% who would prefer Netanyahu. This gap is similar to those found in previous polls.  Former defense minister Avigdor Liberman slightly trails Netanyahu in a PM preference face-off, with 39% of support compared with 42% for the incumbent.  Additionally, the poll asked whether respondents fear another war between Israel and Iran in the near future. A majority, 55%, fear another war breaking out, while 39% are not concerned about this possibility. Another 6% said that they did not know how they felt on this matter.  Just over half of opposition party voters (52%) believe that there should be further mergers within the election bloc before the vote on October 7, 27% believe that the current parties should run separately, and 21% said they were unsure. Those aligned with Yair Golan's Democrats party or Liberman's Yisrael Beytenu party were slightly higher in their support for mergers at 57% and 55%, respectively.  Full Knesset election poll results  Yashar (23)  Likud (20)  B'Yachad (15)  Democrats (10)  Yisrael Beytenu (9)  Otzma Yehudit (8)  United Torah Judaism (7)  The Joint List (7)  Shas (7)  Ra'am (5)  Religious Zionist Party-Zehut (5)  People of Israel (4)  In the poll, conducted by Lazar Research, headed by Dr. Menachem Lazar, in cooperation with Panel4ALL on September 2-3, 4,102 people were invited to participate, and 600 respondents (15%) answered it. They constitute a representative sample of Israel’s adult population aged 18 and over, Jews and Arabs. The poll’s maximum sampling error is 4%.      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(National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir at a press conference announcing MK Tally Gotliv's place on the Otzma Yehudit Knesset list, September 4, 2026.)  Tally Gotliv given second place on Otzma Yehudit list    (https://www.jpost.com/israel-election-2026/article-907517) Naftali Bennett's reset - and his plan to 'repair' Israel      (article-907575.html) Poll: Smotrich-Feiglin merger boosts PM's Knesset coalition      (https://www.jpost.com/israel-election-2026/article-907549) (Former UN ambassador Gilad Erdan at a press conference in Tel Aviv announcing the establishment of a new right-wing party under his and MK Yuli Edelstein's leadership ahead of the upcoming general elections, August 6, 2026.) (Former UN ambassador Gilad Erdan at a press conference in Tel Aviv announcing the establishment of a new right-wing party under his and MK Yuli Edelstein's leadership ahead of the upcoming general elections, August 6, 2026.)  Erdan seeks alliances ahead of Israeli election   (https://www.jpost.com/israel-election-2026/article-907547) (Gadi Eisenkot, head of Yashar, is the main challenger to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the upcoming October election.) (Gadi Eisenkot, head of Yashar, is the main challenger to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the upcoming October election.)  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