Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is the only candidate with a realistic shot of leading Israel after the elections scheduled to take place in four months, according to the results of a poll published Thursday.

According to the poll, conducted by the Dialog Institute on behalf of the Ha'aretz daily, a solid 48 percent of respondents said Netanyahu is most suited to lead -- a figure that overshadows the support for the other three leading candidates combined.

Trailing Netanyahu far behind is Labor chairwoman Shelly Yachimovich with 15 percent of support, followed by Yisrael Beiteinu leader and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman with nine percent and Shaul Mofaz, the newly elected chairman of the Kadima opposition party, with six percent.

Other polls published in recent days show that Netanyahu's Likud party would win 30 seats in parliament in the upcoming elections.

The latest poll comes as the 18th Knesset parliament is set to dissolve next week, just two weeks after it began its summer session. Likud and the opposition Labor and Meretz parties on Wednesday submitted bills to dissolve the legislature and bring forward early elections.

Parliament Speaker Reuven Rivlin has reportedly estimated that deliberations on the bills will begin on Monday with a preliminary reading, and will be finalized on Wednesday.

Netanyahu, who is now observing a traditional seven-day mourning period following his father's death on Monday, is expected to officially announce on Sept. 4 as the date of the elections at his Likud faction's meeting next Sunday, local media reported Thursday.

A new government is scheduled to convene in mid-October and the new prime minister will "undoubtedly" once again be Netanyahu, Ha' aretz said, citing his strong showing at this week's polls.

Israel's political arena has been abuzz in recent weeks with the likelihood of early elections being called. Local media outlets said Netanyahu decided on the move following the bitter bickering between his coalition partners over a bill aimed at making military service mandatory for observant Jewish students, who until today received an exemption thanks to a law that is due to expire in August.

Local political analysts suggested this week that Netanyahu's rush may be to avoid a second round of social protests that were slated to take place this summer, as well as to prevent rivals like Kadima's Mofaz and recent rising political star, ex-newsman Yair Lapid, from striking electoral roots in some of Likud's secular, middle-class demographic sectors.

The Ha'aretz poll, which will be published in full on Friday, also showed the current government enjoys a strong public backing for its policy on Iran's nuclear program.

A solid majority of 51 percent of respondents disagreed with the harsh criticism leveled last week against Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak by the former chief of Shin Bet, Israel's domestic security agency, who described them as " messianics" lacking competence in dealing with the Iranian issue and accused them of misleading the public on the chances of a military strike on Tehran's nuclear facilities succeeding.