BREAKING NEWS

Poll finds Netanyahu preferred over Livni by wide margin

A large majority of Israelis believe that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is better suited to be prime minister than opposition leader Tzipi Livni, 52 to 34 percent, according to a Dialog poll published in the left-leaning Ha'aretz newspaper on Friday. Netanyahu's approval rating rose by five percent to 49% since the last Dialog poll, which was published on June 15 in the aftermath of his policy speech at Bar-Ilan University. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman's popularity rose nine points since a May 14 poll to 40%. The popularity of Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who is the most popular minister in the cabinet, remained steady. Some 70 percent of respondents who voted for Kadima in the February 10 election said they wanted Kadima to join the government, a huge jump over the 49% who said so in the June 15 poll.