New poll finds Trump peace plan, Israeli backpacker's release does little for Netanyahu

Newly released polls indicate that little has been done to bolster the popularity of embattled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu despite securing the most favorable Mideast peace plan ever proposed by an American administration and the release of an Israeli backpacker jailed in Russia. 

According to a new survey commissioned by The Jerusalem Post and its Hebrew-language sister publication Maariv, the Blue & White alliance, lead by former IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz, still retains a narrow but steady lead over Netanyahu's Likud party. 

In addition, the survey notes that the two rival parties would still not have enough parliamentary support to establish a coalition government after the March 2 election, a predicament that has seen the country hold three elections in a year. 

If the numbers are correct, the centrist Blue & White alliance is slated to win 36 seats in the upcoming election, with 33 seats going to the right-wing Likud party.   

Netanyahu has recently managed to turn attention away from his legal woes as Israel's Attorney General officially submitted indictments against the premier this week on separate corruption charges, including breach of public trust, bribery and fraud. 

Netanyahu vehemently denies the charges against him and maintains he is the victim of a corrupt media and police force looking to oust him from power. 

The polls also show that the majority Arab-Israeli Joint List would win 13 seats in the next election. Furthermore,  Shas, United Torah Judaism (UTJ) and Yisrael Beytenu would all receive eight seats each; and seven each for Yamina and Labor-Gesher-Meretz. 

The blocs would be 56 each on the Center-Right and Center-Left, with Yisrael Beytenu’s eight seats holding the balance of power, according to The Jerusalem Post. 

The poll, conducted by Panels Research, surveyed 537 respondents and had a margin of error of 4.4%.