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Support rate rises slightly for Likud following Netanyahu's speech in U.S.

Xinhua, March 5, 2015 Adjust font size:

The supporting rate for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party rose slightly following his speech on Iran at the U.S. Congress, two polls showed Wednesday.

According to a Channel Ten poll, if the elections were held Wednesday Likud would win 23 seats of the 120-seat parliament, two seats more than in the previous poll, while the opposition Zionist Union maintains its strength at 23 seats.

A Channel Two poll gave the Zionist Union the lead with 24 seats to Likud's 23, with the Arab Joint List coming in third place with 13 seats. A previous Channel Two poll showed Likud would win 22 seats.

The Zionist Union is composed of the Labor Party and the Hatnuah Party led by former Justice Minister Tzipi Livni.

Despite strong opposition from the White House, Netanyahu delivered a hardline speech in the U.S. Congress Tuesday, in which he called world powers to refrain from signing a "bad deal" with Iran, arguing that it would enable Iran to develop nuclear weapons.

Many Israeli center-left politicians, including Netanyahu's main rival, Zionist Union leader Yitzhak Herzog, said Netanyahu had damaged Israel-U.S. relations in order to make a political gain in the March 17 Israeli parliamentary elections. Endit