Poll: Israelis Overwhelmingly Oppose Ceasefire

A solid wall of Israeli public opinion stands against a ceasefire until decisive results are achieved in Operation Protective Edge, The Jerusalem Post reported on Sunday.

When asking about a ceasefire, respondents were given two choices. The first supported a ceasefire because “Israel had enough achievements, soldiers have died and it is time to stop.”

The second said Israel should not agree to a ceasefire because “Hamas continues firing missiles on Israel, not all the tunnels have been found and Hamas has not surrendered.”

Only 9.7 percent chose option one, 86.5% option two, and 3.8% said they did not know.

Asked how they would rate Operation Protective Edge if a ceasefire took effect today, 2.2% said they would call it a big success, 22.6% would rate it a good result, and 47.6% a so-so result. 14.9% said it would be a good result for Hamas, 8.7% said a great success for Hamas, and four percent did not know.

The poll was conducted by opinion analyst Mina Tzemach, commissioned by  Roni Rimon, a former aide to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

Rimon noted that when those who rated the results so-so are combined with those viewed it as a success for Hamas, over 71 percent seem disappointed with the operation at this juncture.

“Israelis want victory,” Rimon said. “The public has a bitter taste in its mouth from the results of the war so far,” and he warned that Netanyahu would face a backlash if he stopped the operation too soon.

This article appeared in print on page 5 of the July 28th, 2014 edition of Hamodia.