A recent Israeli poll indicates that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should not remain in power after the conclusion of the Gaza war.
A report by Newsweek highlighted on Wednesday the resounding condemnation of Netanyahu following the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) attack on October 7, which prompted the declaration of war on the Palestinian faction and led Israel to launch its most intense aerial bombardment campaign on Gaza to date.
The survey, conducted from December 25 to 28 with the participation of 605 men and women and published by the Israel Democracy Institute the previous day, revealed that 85% of Israelis want Netanyahu, 74, who has served as prime minister on three separate occasions since 1996, to hand over power to a new person once the war ends.
Benny Gantz, the retired general and former Defense Minister currently serving with Netanyahu in the war government, garnered 23% support. However, about 30.5% of the participants did not express a preference for any candidate.
Among the Israelis polled, more than 56% stated that continued fighting against Hamas was the best way to recover hostages. Only 24% approved of releasing all Palestinian prisoners held by Israel in exchange for all hostages, "even if it means agreeing to Hamas's demand for a ceasefire."
The respondents also expressed their disdain for the United States' role in pressuring for specific military terms, including a ceasefire, due to the rising number of civilian casualties, many of whom are children.
Approximately 38.3% said that Israel "should never" comply with American demands to shift its military strategy to a "different phase" of the war to reduce heavy bombing in densely populated areas. Around 28% believe that Israel should not follow this path.
The American magazine concluded that approximately 51% of the Israeli respondents wanted their army to strongly retaliate against Hezbollah, stating that Israel "must deliver a strong blow to Hezbollah now, even at the expense of opening another front in the north."
