Israeli Public Opinion Polls: Opinions On Fighting with Hamas
A few days ago Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman said that Hamas, with its continuing provocations, is trying to drag Israel into a wide-scale military operation in Gaza. Do you agree or disagree with that assessment?
(The Peace Index, July 2018)
| Israeli Jews | Israeli Arabs | General Public | |
| Strongly agree | 27.7% | 22.3% | 26.8% |
| Moderately agree | 41.9% | 12% | 36.9% |
| Don't agree so much | 17.7% | 19.6% | 18% |
| Don't agree at all | 6.1% | 33.8% | 10.7% |
| Don't know/decline to answer | 6.6% | 12.3% | 7.5% |
If Hamas violates the ceasefire, then in terms of Israel’s interests will it be a good move or not a good move, in your opinion, to launch a wide-scale military operation against Hamas in Gaza?
(The Peace Index, July 2018)
| Israeli Jews | Israeli Arabs | General Public | |
| I'm sure it would not be a good move | 11.4% | 47.3% | 17.4% |
| I think it might not be a good move | 19.6% | 22.1% | 20% |
| I think it would be a good move | 34.9% | 9.2% | 30.6% |
| I'm sure it would be a good move | 26.5% | 6.9% | 23.3% |
| Don't know/decline to answer | 7.7% | 14.6% | 8.8% |
What, in your opinion, are the chances that in the coming year a war will break out between Israel and Hamas in Gaza?
(The Peace Index, June 2017)
| Israeli Jews | Israeli Arabs | General Public | |
| Very low chances | 6.3% | 17.5% | 8.2% |
| Moderately low chances | 29.5% | 15% | 27.0% |
| Moderately high chances | 40.4% | 33.2% | 39.2% |
| Very high chances | 15.4% | 26% | 17.2% |
| Don't know/decline to answer | 8.4% | 8.3% | 8.3% |
Would you be in support of a unilateral or bilateral cease-fire at this time? (The Jerusalem Post, July 29, 2014)
| Would support a unilateral cease-fire | 20% |
| Would support a bilateral cease-fire | 33% |
In your opinion, has Israel used an excessive amount of force against Hamas during Operation Protective Edge? (The Jerusalem Post, July 29, 2014)
| Israel has used an excessive amount of force | <4% |
| Israel has used the appropriate amount of force | 96% |
In your opinion, should Israel launch an extensive ground operation today in Gaza in light of the rocket fire from Gaza to Israel? (Interdisciplinary Research and Consulting Institute Ltd, July 8th, 2014)
| Yes | 48% |
| No | 41% |
| Don't Know and Other | 11% |
Do you believe that the fighting between Israel and Palestinian groups in Gaza... (PIPA, November 26, 2012)
| All Israelis | Israeli Jews | |
| will end for good only when there is a political final status agreement with the Palestinians | 29% | 27% |
| will end only through a major Israeli military campaign | 15% | 15% |
| will end only if Israel reoccupies Gaza | 12% | 13% |
| will not end | 40% | 42% |
| don't know/refused | 4% | -- |
Regarding what is happening these days, do you think Israel is better or worse off than before the escalation in the Gaza Strip front? (PIPA, November 26, 2012)
| All Israelis | Israeli Jews | |
| better | 36% | 38% |
| worse | 21% | 16% |
| the same | 38% | 42% |
| don't know/refused | 5% | -- |
Who, in your opinion, won the combat in the Gaza Strip? (PIPA, November 26, 2012)
| All Israelis | Israeli Jews | |
| Israel | 40% | 44% |
| Hamas | 11% | 10% |
| Neither | 45% | 44% |
| don't know/refused | 5% | -- |
Do you support signing a ceasefire with Hamas? (Channel 2, November 21, 2012)
| Yes | 24% |
| No | 70% |
| Don't know | 6% |
How long do you believe the ceasefire will hold? (Channel 2, November 21, 2012)
| A short while | 64% |
| Won't last long | 24% |
| For a long time | 7% |
Did Operation Pillar of Defense reinstate Israel's deterrence? (Channel 2, November 21, 2012)
| It has been strengthened | 58% |
| It was weakened | 15% |
| It hasn't changed | 26% |
Should Israel launch a military operation in Gaza? (New Wave for Yisrael Hayom, November 1, 2011)
| Yes | 56.9% |
| No | 28.7% |
| Don't know | 14.4% |
Do you think the recent military operation of Israel in Gaza was stopped by Israel too early, too late, or in the right time? (Truman Research Institute/PCPSR, March 1-7, 2009)
| Too early | 66% |
| Too late | 15% |
| In the right time | 16% |
Given the outcome of the Israeli operation in Gaza, do you believe Palestinians are better off, worse off, or about the same as they were before the operation? (Truman Research Institute/PCPSR, March 1-7, 2009)
| Better off | 16% |
| Worse off | 58% |
| About the same | 22% |
In the aftermath of the Israeli operation in Gaza, what do you expect will happen between the two sides? (Truman Research Institute/PCPSR, March 1-7, 2009)
| They will return to negotiations and armed confrontations will stop | 7% |
| They will return to negotiations but some armed confrontations will continue | 51% |
| Thew will not return to negotiations and armed confrontations will not stop | 40% |
On a scale of 1 (very disappointed) to 5 (very satisfied), how would you rate your feelings of the results of Operation Cast Lead? (The Tami Steinmetz Center for Peace Research, Peace Index - February 2009)
| 1- Very disappointed | 20.1% |
| 2 | 13.0% |
| 3 | 28.8% |
| 4 | 18.7% |
| 5- Very satisfied | 15.4% |
| No opinion/I don't know | 4.0% |
Which of the following statements do you agree with most regarding your opinion of Operation Cast Lead? (The Tami Steinmetz Center for Peace Research, Peace Index - February 2009)
| Israel should have continued the operation until Hamas surrendered rather than give in to the international pressure to stop the fighting | 56.2% |
| The operation ended at the right time based on the circumstances | 21.7% |
| The operation should have ended earlier, after the air operations | 15.1% |
| No opinion/I don't know | 7.0% |
Do you think Israel should or should not negotiate with Hamas? (The Tami Steinmetz Center for Peace Research, Peace Index - February 2009)
| Support negotiations | 45.2% |
| Oppose negotiations | 50.7% |
| No opinion/I don't know | 4.2% |
Do generally support or oppose IDF Operation Cast Lead? (Independent Media Review & Analysis, Tel Aviv University, TNS Polling; January 2, 2009; January 4-6, 2009; January 9, 2009)
| January 2, 2009 | January 4-6, 2009 | January 9, 2009 | |
| Support | 93.1% | 94.2% | 91.4% |
| Oppose | 3.9% | 3.2% | 3.8% |
| I don't know/No answer | 3% | 2.6% | 4.8% |
What do you think are the chances that IDF Operation Cast Lead will achieve all of its objectives? (Tel Aviv University, January 4-6, 2009)
| Very low chance | 6% |
| Fairly low chance | 14.7% |
| Fairly high chance | 51.7% |
| Very high chance | 18.5% |
| I don't know/No answer | 9.1% |
Do you think the air force attacks in Gaza are justified or not justified in light of the destruction of infrastructure and suffering of the civilian population in the Gaza Strip that they are causing? (Tel Aviv University, January 4-6, 2009)
| Justified | 91.7% |
| Not justified | 6% |
| I don't know/No answer | 2.4% |
Does IDF Operation Cast Lead benefit or harm Israel from a security perspective? (Tel Aviv University, January 4-6, 2009)
| Benefit | 91.6% |
| Harm | 4% |
| I don't know/No answer | 4.4% |
On a scale of 1 to 5, how confident are you in each of the following in their leadership role during IDF Operation Cast Lead? (Tel Aviv University, January 4-6, 2009)
| Ehud Olmert | Ehud Barak | Tzipi Livni | Binyamin Netanyahu | Shimon Peres | Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi | |
| 1- No confidence | 18.7% | 9.9% | 13.1% | 15.5% | 11.1% | 2.8% |
| 2 | 8.3% | 5.4% | 7% | 6% | 5% | 1.6% |
| 3- Medium confidence | 25% | 19.9% | 23.1% | 19.3% | 14.7% | 6% |
| 4 | 16.9% | 20.7% | 20.1% | 16.7% | 15.1% | 10.3% |
| 5- Full confidence | 27% | 41.4% | 33% | 36.4% | 47.7% | 74.8% |
| I don't know/No answer | 4% | 2.8% | 3.8% | 6.2% | 6.4% | 4.6% |
Should the IDF continue the battle in Gaza or has the time come for a ceasefire? (Independent Media Review & Analysis; December 30, 2008; January 6, 2009)
| December 30, 2008 | January 6, 2009 | |
| Continue | 81% | 70% |
| Ceasefire | 10% | 20% |
| Other replies | 9% | 10% |
After five days of battle against Hamas, what do you think Israel should do now? (Independent Media Review & Analysis; January 2, 2009)
| Air operation only | 39.6% |
| Ground operation | 41.8% |
| Ceasefire now | 9.3% |
Is Prime Minister Ehud Olmert handling the war in Gaza today better or worse than he managed the Second Lebanon War? (Independent Media Review & Analysis; December 31, 2008)
| Better | 64% |
| Worse | 7% |
| No significant difference | 9% |
| Don't know/other replies | 20% |
Do you support a military operation in the Gaza Strip? (Midgam; December 24, 2008)
| Support | 60% |
| Oppose | 23% |
| Don't know/other replies | 17% |
Do you support a ground operation in the Gaza Strip that may cause losses among IDF soldiers? (Dialogue, Ha'aretz; December 23, 2008)
| Support | 40% |
| Do not support | 46% |
| Don't know/other replies | 14% |
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