JERUSALEM: Nearly two-thirds of Israelis oppose the Iran ceasefire but the public is divided over whether Israel should respect the two-week truce or resume attacks on Iran, according to a poll from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
The poll was the first national survey of Israelis conducted after the US and Iran agreed last week to a ceasefire brokered by Pakistan, the survey’s authors said. The two sides failed to reach a broader deal to end the war in weekend talks in Islamabad.
The ceasefire has halted US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran. But it has not ended a parallel war between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, where the Israeli military has continued deadly bombardment that has killed many civilians. Hezbollah has continued to fire rockets at Israeli towns in the country’s north.
On Lebanon, more than 61 per cent of Israelis believe the truce should not extend to the fighting with Hezbollah, a core demand by Iran in talks with the US, according to the poll, conducted by researchers at Hebrew University’s Agam Labs.
Asked what Israel should do about Iran, 39 per cent said Israel should continue attacks, 41 per cent said their country should respect the ceasefire, and 19 per cent said they weren’t sure, the poll said.
The poll was based on a sample of 1,312 Israelis interviewed from April 9-10, with a margin of error of 3.2 per cent. With the fate of the Iran ceasefire unclear, Israel is digging in for a long, drawn-out conflict across the Middle East, with Israeli officials concluding that their enemies in Iran, Lebanon, Gaza and beyond cannot be eliminated outright.
The public’s perception of Israel’s military success in Iran holds high stakes for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces an election due by October that most public opinion polls show he will lose.
According to the Hebrew University poll, Netanyahu’s standing among Israelis has decreased since the start of the Iran war, with 34 per cent of Israelis preferring him as premier now versus 40 per cent at the start of the conflict. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s poll suggests most Israelis agree that Lebanon should not be included in an Iran ceasefire.
Israel, backed by the United States, has argued the fight with Hezbollah is a totally separate battle and the threat on the northern border must be eradicated. The Lebanese health ministry said more than 350 people - a third of them women and children - were killed in the air strikes last Wednesday. It says more than 2,000 people have been killed by Israeli air strikes since fighting renewed on 2 March after a Hezbollah attack on Israel. Twelve Israeli soldiers and two civilians have been killed by Hezbollah in the same period, Israeli authorities say.
Israelis vote in parliamentary elections later this year and some polls suggest Netanyahu’s popularity has taken a hit because of the way the conflict with Tehran played out. The popularity of his rival, former prime minister Naftali Bennett, appears to have slightly increased.
Polls have shown around 40 per cent of voters saying they will stick with Netanyahu’s coalition of nationalist and religious parties, while 40 per cent are backing opposition parties.
