Majority of Israelis want war to end, 77% think bringing hostages home trumps toppling Hamas - poll

A majority of Israelis think that it is time to end the Israel-Hamas War, according to a recent Israel Democracy Institute poll.

Approximately 53% of the total sample, 45% of Jews, and 93% of Arabs think that it is time to end the war, according to the poll, whereas 43% of Jews, 5% of Arabs, and 36% of the total sample think that it is not time to end the war.

When asked what the main reason the war should be ended is, 53% of Israelis said that it should be ended because its “continuation endangers the hostages.” Fifty-six percent of Jews and 45% of Arabs said that the hostages were the main reason that the war should be ended.

The next largest group, 16%, said that the war should be ended to enable Israel’s leadership and the IDF to focus their attention on the northern front.

Fifteen percent of Jews and 11% of Arabs said that the war should be ended because “the fighting has already achieved most of what can be achieved.”

Monday’s poll also examined what the country thought the “main goal” of the war should be when asked to pick between bringing the hostages back and toppling Hamas. Approximately 77% of Israelis said that bringing the hostages home should be the first priority, while just 12% said that toppling Hamas should be the first priority.

Growing support for hostage return over toppling Hamas

The number of those who have chosen bringing the hostages home as the first priority at the expense of toppling Hamas has steadily increased since January, when 47% picked bringing the hostages home, and 42% said that toppling Hamas was most important.

The poll also examined Israeli opinions surrounding the right of Palestinians to their own state. Some 39% of the total sample said that Palestinians have the right to their own state, while 52% believe that they do not.

When looking at Jewish opinions on this question, just 28% of Jews believe that Palestinians have the right to their own state, while 61% think they do not.

Looking at answers of the Jewish population broken down by political orientation, a large majority of Israelis on the political left (73%) believe that Palestinians have the right to their own state, 39% of those in the political center think that they do, and 12% of people on the right think that they do.

Looking at public opinion on elections, 47% of Israelis think that elections for Israel’s government should be held in 2024, 16% think they should be held in 2025, and 33% believe that the government should be allowed to complete its full term and elections should be held in 2026.

Respondents were asked to rate those involved in hostage negotiations on their performance on a scale of one to five. Among Jews, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s average grade was 2.34 out of five. Among Arabs, it was 1.36. His score in the total sample was 2.17.

Mediating countries received an average score of 2.19 out of five, and the negotiating team was given a score of 2.76 out of five.

Respondents were also asked to grade other leaders on their functioning since October 7. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant got a grade of 2.67, and IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi received a 2.75.

When asked about the IDF’s functioning, 76% graded the IDF’s combat capabilities a four or five out of five. Looking at the ethical conduct of the IDF, 83% of Jews rated this as a four or five out of five, with 9% rating it a three from five and 6% rating it a one or two out of five.

For Arab respondents, 67.5% rated the IDF’s ethical conduct as a one or two out of five, 15% rated it a three out of five, and 14% rated it a four or five out of five.

In the total sample, 71% rated the IDF’s ethical conduct as four or five out of five, 10% rated it as three out of five, and 17% rated it as one or two out of five.

The poll also asked respondents to say if they support investigating soldiers “when suspicions arise of abuse of Palestinians from Gaza who are being held in detention by the IDF.”

Some 61.5% of Jews opposed such investigations, while 34.5% supported it. Among Arabs, 75% supported them, and 21% were opposed.

There were significant distinctions along political lines among the Jewish population, with 76.5% of left-wing Israelis supporting investigating soldiers in these circumstances and 51.5% of the center supporting it. Seventy-eight percent of Jews on the right opposed these investigations.