48 percent of Israelis support the re-election of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to a poll published Thursday, May 3, by Haaretz daily.

His closest rival, Shelly Yacimovich (Labor), got only 15 percent support. Next came Avigdor Lieberman (Yisrael Beiteinu) with 9 percent, and finally Shaul Mofaz (Kadima) with 6 percent. That is a blow to Mofaz, who has been presenting himself as Netanyahu's only realistic rival, the daily says.

The Prime Minister's strong showing on the suitability question, combined with all the polls showing his Likud party winning about 30 Knesset seats, prove he knew what he was doing when he decided last week to call early elections.

Next week, the 18th Knesset will dissolve, two weeks after it began its summer session. The 19th Knesset will convene in mid-October, immediately after the Sukkot holiday, which is apparently when the new government will be sworn in. And according to all the polls, without exception, the new Prime Minister will once again be Netanyahu.