47% of Israelis believe Trump's Gaza expulsion plan could be implemented

A survey published by Israeli Maariv newspaper today found that 47 per cent of Israelis believe there is a chance of US President Donald Trump’s proposed plan to expel Palestinians from the Gaza Strip being implemented.

The poll showed strong support among voters for coalition parties, with 78 per cent backing the expulsion proposal. In contrast, 38 per cent of respondents doubted the feasibility of the plan.

This skepticism was unanimous among voters of Arab parties and shared by 58 per cent of opposition Zionist party voters. Additionally, 15 per cent of those surveyed were uncertain about whether the plan would materialise.

On the topic of a prisoner exchange agreement between Israel and Hamas, 40 per cent of respondents believed it would be fully carried out, while 29 per cent doubted its implementation and 31 per cent expressed uncertainty.

Read: Gazans tell Trump they will rebuild their own restaurants and hotels

During a joint press conference in Washington with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, Trump said the US “will take over” Gaza after relocating over 2 million Palestinians elsewhere under an extraordinary redevelopment plan that he claimed could turn the enclave into “the Riviera of the Middle East.”

Trump first triggered uproar last week by suggesting that Palestinians in Gaza should be relocated to Jordan and Egypt, calling the enclave a “demolition site” after Israel’s 15-month war that has claimed more than 47,000 lives. A ceasefire that took hold on 19 January is currently in place.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants in November for Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. In response, Trump has signed an order to impose sanctions on members of the international war crimes court.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.