Friday's poll shows that if elections were held now Netanyahu's Likud party would win with 33 seats, six more than it has now. The poll gave 28 seats to his closest rival, the centrist Kadima.

It also shows that two-thirds of Israelis are pleased with Netanyahu's handling of foreign affairs and 60 percent are pleased with his leadership on security.

Netanyahu's hard-line government has seen ties with the U.S. and other allies cool over Israel's refusal to freeze West Bank settlements.

The poll was published in the daily Yediot Ahronot. Pollsters surveyed 500 people and the margin of error was 4.5 percentage points.