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Against the background of the release of four of the abductees by Hamas and the raising of the issue of the abductees to a high place in the order of priorities, at the same time as the ongoing delay in the IDF’s ground entry into the Gaza Strip and the continued airstrikes and rocket fire from the Strip – this week there was a significant decrease in the rate of public support for an extensive ground operation in the Gaza Strip – it appears “Maariv” survey, conducted by “Lazar Researches”, led by Dr. Menachem Lazar, in collaboration with Panel4All.
The “Maariv” system debated a lot regarding the question of ground entry, due to the sensitivity regarding the abductees and the humanitarian issue. The public also raised questions on the subject, due to a possible danger to the lives of abductees in the event of an expansion of the fighting.
While in a survey conducted last week (on October 19), the majority of Israelis (65%) supported an extensive ground operation in the Gaza Strip, in a survey conducted yesterday, close to half of the respondents (49%) believe that it is appropriate to wait with the decision. The segmentation of the answers shows that there is no difference in the division according to political camps or demographic characteristics, and most likely that the developments that have taken place since then on the subject of the abductees, which has risen to the top of the agenda, have a great weight in this change.
In response to the question: Do you think the IDF should immediately enter an extensive ground operation in the Gaza Strip, or is it correct to wait with the decision? – the answers were: should enter immediately – 29%, is it correct to wait with the decision – 49%, do not know – 22%.
The “Maariv” survey also shows that the effect of the entry of the state camp led by Benny Gantz into the coalition and the war cabinet is fading to some extent, with the state camp dropping to 36 mandates, after 40-41 mandates in the previous two weeks. The mandates go mainly to Lish Atid, which gets stronger by 2 mandates and rises to 17, and to Yisrael Beitenu, which increases in mandate – to 8 mandates. Likud is also gaining strength in mandates (19), while Otzma Yehudit drops to 4 mandates, on the threshold of the blocking percentage.
However, there is no change in the blocs this week – the opposition parties have 77 mandates, compared to only 43 mandates for the coalition parties.
On the question of suitability for the prime ministership, the same data as last week are also obtained – Benny Gantz leads with 49%, compared to Benjamin Netanyahu with 28% (another 23% do not know).
However, the survey was conducted before Gantz’s first statement to the media, yesterday afternoon and during Netanyahu’s speech to the nation, Tuesday evening.
In answer to the question: If new Knesset elections were held today, who would you vote for? – The answers were: the state camp led by Benny Gantz – 36 mandates (40 in the previous poll), Likud led by Benjamin Netanyahu – 19 (18), Yesh Atid led by Yair Lapid – 17 (15), Yisrael Beitenu led by Avigdor Lieberman – 8 (7), Shas led by Aryeh Deri – 8 (8), Torah Judaism led by Yitzhak Goldknopf and Moshe Gafni – 7 (7), Meretz – 6 (6), Hadash-Ta’al led by Ayman Odeh and Ahmed Tibi – 5 (5), National Religious Party – Religious Zionism led by Bezalel Smotrich – 5 (5), Ra’am led by Mansor Abbas – 5 (4), Otzma Yehudit led by Itamar Ben Gabir – 4 (5). The Labor Party (1.2% this week compared to 2% last week) and Balad – (1.2% this week compared to 1.8% last week) moved away from the blocking percentage.
In answer to the question, which of the two, Benjamin Netanyahu or Benny Gantz, is more suitable to be the prime minister of Israel? – The answers were: Benny Gantz 49%, Benjamin Netanyahu – 28%, don’t know – 23%. Among Likud voters – Netanyahu receives 57%, compared to 21% for Gantz and 22 who answered they don’t know. Among the voters of the state camp – Gantz receives 95%, compared to 0% for Netanyahu and 5% who do not know. Among Yesh Atid voters, Gantz receives 93%, compared to 2% for Netanyahu and 5% who do not know.
In the survey conducted on October 25-26, 522 respondents participated, constituting a representative sample of the adult population in the State of Israel from the age of 18 and older, Jews and Arabs. The maximum sampling error in the survey is 4.3%.