Poll: Half of Israelis support occupying, displacing Gaza

A new opinion poll has found that 49 per cent of Israelis support the complete occupation of the Gaza Strip, the displacement of Palestinians and the establishment of settlements on their land. Meanwhile, 44 per cent of respondents backed either a full or partial withdrawal from the Strip.

The survey, conducted by the Summit Institute and published by the Hebrew-language website Walla on Thursday, showed sharp differences between coalition and opposition voters. More than two-thirds (71 per cent) of coalition voters support occupying Gaza and displacing its residents, compared to only about a fifth (17 per cent) of opposition voters.

When broken down by coalition parties, Likud voters were found to be relatively less hard-line, with 63 per cent supporting the occupation of Gaza. This rose to 80 per cent among Religious Zionism voters and 89 per cent among Shas voters. At the same time, about 30 per cent of Likud voters backed either a full or partial withdrawal, a much higher percentage than those in other parties within the coalition.

Among opposition voters, a contrasting view was recorded. Nearly half (49 per cent) supported a complete withdrawal coupled with the establishment of a one-kilometre-deep buffer zone inside Gaza, while 28 per cent preferred a gradual withdrawal within one to two years.

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