Two out of three Israelis (69%) want to see the country hold new elections as soon as the war with Hamas ends, according to a new poll released Tuesday, with the number approaching 100% (98.5%) on the political left, and a bare majority (51.5%) on the political right – where the Netanyahu government sits – agreeing.
Most voters (57%) say they will stick with the same political block as in the last election, but may switch parties, the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI) poll suggested; 28% are undecided.
IDI polled 604 people in Israel by telephone and online in Hebrew and Arabic December from 11 to 13. The margin of error on the full sample is four points.
When it comes to Israel’s war aims, things are less clear cut. A clear majority of Israeli Jews (71.5%) believe the country’s central aim of destroying Hamas is achievable; when the country’s Arabs, who make up around one-fifth of the population, are included, the figure drops to 65%.
But only around one-third (35.5%) believe the goal of getting the remaining 129 Israeli hostages home is achievable. It’s worth noting this survey was taken before IDF soldiers mistakenly killed three Israeli hostages on Friday. This is unlikely to have raised Israelis’ hopes of success.
An uncertain future: As the war rolls on, what happens next to Gaza has become a more urgent question for the Israeli government, and the international community. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected calls for the Palestinian Authority (PA), which administers parts of the West Bank, to retake control of Gaza. “Gaza will be neither Hamastan nor Fatahstan [a reference to the largest Palestinian faction, Fatah],” said Netanyahu last week. What’s his plan? The IDI survey found two-thirds of Israelis don’t think he has one.
Of more immediate concern, especially to the international community, is the suffering of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The Hamas-run health ministry says almost 20,000 have been killed. The figures don’t distinguish between combatants and civilians, but the militant group says most were women and children.
The figures make for grim reading for Israel’s enemies and allies alike; even US President Joe Biden has criticized Israel for its “indiscriminate bombing.” Israelis don’t seem too concerned: asked whether the suffering of Palestinians should be taken into consideration in the war planning, 81% of Jewish Israelis say it should be taken into account to a “fairly small” or “very small” extent.
The survey was conducted by the Viterbi Family Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research at the Israel Democracy Institute. Data collection was carried out between December 11–13, 2023, with 503 men and women interviewed via the internet and by telephone in Hebrew and 101 in Arabic. The maximum sampling error was ±4.06% at a confidence level of 95%, IDI said. It’s their seventh flash survey since the war began on October 7.
