Most Israelis fear this, poll finds

The Jewish people of Israel, battered yet unbowed, have spoken with unmistakable clarity. A survey by the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs (JCFA), conducted by Lazar Research on May 5-6, reveals a nation resolute in its rejection of any deal that would permit the barbarous Hamas to cling to power in Gaza. 

The poll, encompassing 702 souls—Jews and Arabs, aged 18 and older—paints a portrait of a people forged anew in the crucible of the October 7 massacre, that unspeakable Hamas-led atrocity which unleashed this war.

The findings, unveiled ahead of The Jerusalem Post Annual New York Conference, are a rebuke to the naive and the deluded. A commanding 66% of Israelis stand firm against the chimera of a Palestinian state along the 1967 lines, a figure unmoved since prior polls. 

Among Jewish respondents, this opposition surges to a formidable 78%, with a mere 1% offering unconditional assent to such a state. One need not be a prophet to discern why: 70% of all respondents, and a staggering 81% of Jews, live in dread of a second October 7 erupting from the West Bank. 

Contrast this with the 53% of Arab respondents who, curiously, profess no such fear.

The poll’s starkest revelation is the near-universal loathing for Hamas’s continued existence. An overwhelming 85% reject the notion of Hamas retaining a military presence in Gaza; 81% recoil at the prospect of its involvement in civilian governance. Support for Hamas in any form languishes at a pitiful 7-8%. 

This is a people who have seen the face of evil and will not abide its persistence. Even the return of evacuated Israelis to their border communities near Gaza, a homecoming one might assume instinctive, meets fierce resistance if Hamas endures. Sixty-three percent oppose such returns, with only 11% in favor.

Should Hamas persist as a military force, opposition climbs to 67%, and support dwindles to a mere 8%, evidently by suicidal Israelis,

The Palestinian Authority, often peddled as a moderate alternative, fares little better. Opposition to its role in Gaza’s post-war governance has softened, from 60% in March to 50%; yet support remains a tepid 25%. 

A growing number of respondents, adrift in political uncertainty, confess indecision. But on one point, clarity reigns: 71% of Israelis, and 82% of Jewish Israelis, endorse the Trump peace plan, a framework that dares to grapple with reality rather than indulge in fantasy.

And then we have Iran, the malevolent puppeteer looming over this tragedy. 

Sixty percent of Israelis back a military strike on its nuclear facilities—a sentiment unchanged since March. Of these, 37% prefer coordination with the United States, while 23% would see Israel act alone, undeterred by American hesitance. Israel knows that it must act preemptively in these situations in order to maintain its existence.

Dan Diker, president of the JCFA, captures the moment with precision: “The findings reflect a new security reality for Israeli society and continued public opposition to a Palestinian state that supports terrorism, even under the condition of normalization with Saudi Arabia.” He adds, “The survey also shows that the Israeli public is not willing to accept continued Hamas rule in Gaza, even when faced with the dilemma of a hostage deal with Hamas. The public understands that Israel’s security and existential threats require decisive leadership.”

Here is a nation transformed, not by choice, but by necessity. The illusions of compromise with those who seek its destruction have been shattered and reality has set in. 

Israel stands, as ever, at the edge of the abyss, yet its people refuse to blink. They demand leadership equal to their courage, and they will not settle for less.

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