A majority of Israel's Jewish citizens are convinced that Israel will win the war (78%), according to a new JPPI poll for November. This is a slight increase from last month.
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According to the survey, conducted among 666 Israelis and conducted onNovember 15-18 by the index website, about a third of Israeli Jews want full Israeli control over Gaza after the victory, with about a quarter believing that this control should also include the return of Gush Katif communities to the Gaza Strip. According to Dr. Shuki Friedman, Vice President of JPPI: "While the fighting in Gaza is not over, Israelis are already thinking about ending it. Amid all the political considerations guiding decision makers, Israelis believe that the most important thing is to make sure that Hamas does not exist, and that we will no longer depend on the mercy of others for our security."
"While the fighting in Gaza is not over, Israelis are already thinking about its end," Photo: JPPI survey
Among coalition voters, almost half of the respondents (44%) chose the option that includes a return to Gush Katif, and about 9% chose the option of full Israeli control. In contrast, among opposition voters, only 45% chose the option of full Israeli control of the Gaza Strip. Of the six options presented to respondents about what would happen in Gaza the day after, about 12% of respondents chose Palestinian rule in the Gaza Strip, provided that Israel is responsible for security or that the Gaza Strip is demilitarized. Of these, a relatively small percentage (21%) chose the PA, and a larger rate expressed preference for a Palestinian government other than Hamas and not the Palestinian Authority (<>%).
Almost all respondents emphasize Israel's need to win, even if victory requires (unintentional) harming innocent people. At the same time, there is a discrepancy between different groups in their reluctance to harm uninvolved Gazan civilians, with a majority of secular respondents (62%) saying that the IDF's goal should be "to win while trying not to harm innocent people," while among religious groups there is a tendency to respond "forever no matter how" (47% among the religious) or even "win and take revenge, including harming as many Gaza residents as possible" (20% among the religious). The percentage of Israeli Jews who agree with the goal of "not harming innocent people, even at the cost of a less obvious victory" is very low.
IDF fighters' activity in the Gaza Strip, photo: IDF Spokesperson
On the question of what is the main achievement that will define victory, the answer that received the highest rate was "If Gaza is not under Hamas control, we won" (38%). About a quarter of all the respondents did not know how to choose the definition they considered appropriate out of those presented, another quarter (25%) chose the answer "If the residents of the envelope feel safe returning to their homes – we won", and only 14% said that "if the abductees return home – we won". In this context, it is important to emphasize that the survey was conducted before the prisoner deal was published.
In answer to this question, large gaps were evident according to political key. Voters for the coalition parties gave clear priority to the end of Hamas rule as the key to victory, while among voters for the opposition parties the division between the options was balanced.
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