72.5% of Israelis believe Netanyahu should take responsibility for Oct. 7 and resign.
72.5% of Israelis believe Netanyahu should take responsibility for Oct. 7 and resign.
Israel Democracy Institute poll also finds similar percentage favors advancing to the second phase of the ceasefire-hostage release deal with Hamas.
By Sam Sokol for The Times of Israel.
9 Mar 2025, 5:06 pm.
Almost three-quarters of Israelis believe that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should take responsibility for the events of October 7, 2023, and resign from his position, according to a survey released on Sunday.
The Israel Democracy Institute’s February Israeli Voice Index, a monthly survey of public opinion, found that 48 percent of Israelis believe Netanyahu should resign immediately, while 24.5% believe he should step down following the end of the war in Gaza.
Fourteen point five percent of respondents believe that he should take responsibility without resigning and only 10% believe he should neither take responsibility nor resign.
Overall, 72.5% believe Netanyahu should take responsibility and resign now or after the war, while 87% believe he should take responsibility for October 7 regardless of his subsequent resignation, the poll found.
Only 45% of Jewish respondents indicated that they believed Netanyahu should resign immediately, significantly lower than the 59% of Arabs who hold the same view. Eighty-three point five percent of those on the left and 69% of those in the center support Netanyahu’s immediate resignation, as opposed to only 25.5% on the right.
The IDI survey — which polled 759 people in Hebrew and Arabic between February 25 and 28 — also found only 33% of Israelis expressing optimism over the county’s economic future and 30% expressing optimism about the future of its social cohesion.
Seventy-three percent of respondents agreed that Israel should advance to the second phase of the ceasefire/hostage-return deal with Hamas, including “a complete cessation of hostilities, withdrawal from Gaza, and release of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the release of all the hostages.”
This included 61.5% of voters for Netanyahu’s own Likud party, although supporters of continuing the deal were outnumbered by opponents among voters of other coalition parties.
Only 41.5% indicated that they believed Netanyahu had “contributed to the implementation of the deal,” as opposed to 85.5% for US President Donald Trump.
The first phase of the ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas officially drew to a close a week ago. Talks regarding the terms of a potential second phase were supposed to have begun on February 3, but Israel has effectively refused to engage in them, as phase two would require Israel to withdraw fully from Gaza and agree to a permanent end to the war in exchange for the remaining living hostages.
Israel has sought to extend the first phase to enable further hostage releases without committing to an end to the war, but Hamas has so far rejected this.
On Saturday evening, the Prime Minister’s Office announced that Israel will send a negotiating team to Qatar on Monday to continue efforts to extend the ceasefire-hostage deal.
Asked about Trump’s plan to relocate the residents of the Gaza Strip, 64% of respondents said that they believed that his proposal, “regardless of its practicability,” had “started a more relevant discussion of possible solutions for ending the war.”
Seventy-three percent of Jews agreed with this assessment, versus only 23% of Arab respondents. Among Jewish respondents, 69% of those on the left, 70% of those on the center and 77% of those on the right said that Trump’s plan had “reinvigorated” the debate about solutions to the conflict.
On Sunday, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich told lawmakers that the government, under the leadership of Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz, is working to establish a “migration administration” that will oversee the exodus of Palestinian residents from the Gaza Strip.
Asked about “the likelihood that President Trump will turn away from Israel, if he thinks that its policies are not aligned with the interests of the United States,” 34.5% said that it was fairly low and 17% said very low. Twenty-seven point five percent said it was fairly high and 11% said it was very high.
The IDI’s findings were released shortly after a Channel 12 poll found that the pro-Netanyahu bloc would be at just 48 seats in the 120-member Knesset if elections were held today.
That poll also found that 60% of the public thinks Netanyahu should resign as prime minister, compared to 31% who think he should stay in his post and 9% who are unsure. Among coalition voters, 24% think he should resign; among opposition voters, 94% think he should resign.
Despite this, in head-to-head matchups between Netanyahu and his political rivals, only former prime minister Naftali Bennett was considered better suited to be prime minister by the public, the Channel 12 poll found.
Lazar Berman contributed to this report.
Israel Democracy Institute poll also finds similar percentage favors advancing to the second phase of the ceasefire-hostage release deal with Hamas.
By Sam Sokol for The Times of Israel.
9 Mar 2025, 5:06 pm.
Almost three-quarters of Israelis believe that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should take responsibility for the events of October 7, 2023, and resign from his position, according to a survey released on Sunday.
The Israel Democracy Institute’s February Israeli Voice Index, a monthly survey of public opinion, found that 48 percent of Israelis believe Netanyahu should resign immediately, while 24.5% believe he should step down following the end of the war in Gaza.
Fourteen point five percent of respondents believe that he should take responsibility without resigning and only 10% believe he should neither take responsibility nor resign.
Overall, 72.5% believe Netanyahu should take responsibility and resign now or after the war, while 87% believe he should take responsibility for October 7 regardless of his subsequent resignation, the poll found.
Only 45% of Jewish respondents indicated that they believed Netanyahu should resign immediately, significantly lower than the 59% of Arabs who hold the same view. Eighty-three point five percent of those on the left and 69% of those in the center support Netanyahu’s immediate resignation, as opposed to only 25.5% on the right.
The IDI survey — which polled 759 people in Hebrew and Arabic between February 25 and 28 — also found only 33% of Israelis expressing optimism over the county’s economic future and 30% expressing optimism about the future of its social cohesion.
Seventy-three percent of respondents agreed that Israel should advance to the second phase of the ceasefire/hostage-return deal with Hamas, including “a complete cessation of hostilities, withdrawal from Gaza, and release of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the release of all the hostages.”
This included 61.5% of voters for Netanyahu’s own Likud party, although supporters of continuing the deal were outnumbered by opponents among voters of other coalition parties.
Only 41.5% indicated that they believed Netanyahu had “contributed to the implementation of the deal,” as opposed to 85.5% for US President Donald Trump.
The first phase of the ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas officially drew to a close a week ago. Talks regarding the terms of a potential second phase were supposed to have begun on February 3, but Israel has effectively refused to engage in them, as phase two would require Israel to withdraw fully from Gaza and agree to a permanent end to the war in exchange for the remaining living hostages.
Israel has sought to extend the first phase to enable further hostage releases without committing to an end to the war, but Hamas has so far rejected this.
On Saturday evening, the Prime Minister’s Office announced that Israel will send a negotiating team to Qatar on Monday to continue efforts to extend the ceasefire-hostage deal.
Asked about Trump’s plan to relocate the residents of the Gaza Strip, 64% of respondents said that they believed that his proposal, “regardless of its practicability,” had “started a more relevant discussion of possible solutions for ending the war.”
Seventy-three percent of Jews agreed with this assessment, versus only 23% of Arab respondents. Among Jewish respondents, 69% of those on the left, 70% of those on the center and 77% of those on the right said that Trump’s plan had “reinvigorated” the debate about solutions to the conflict.
On Sunday, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich told lawmakers that the government, under the leadership of Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz, is working to establish a “migration administration” that will oversee the exodus of Palestinian residents from the Gaza Strip.
Asked about “the likelihood that President Trump will turn away from Israel, if he thinks that its policies are not aligned with the interests of the United States,” 34.5% said that it was fairly low and 17% said very low. Twenty-seven point five percent said it was fairly high and 11% said it was very high.
The IDI’s findings were released shortly after a Channel 12 poll found that the pro-Netanyahu bloc would be at just 48 seats in the 120-member Knesset if elections were held today.
That poll also found that 60% of the public thinks Netanyahu should resign as prime minister, compared to 31% who think he should stay in his post and 9% who are unsure. Among coalition voters, 24% think he should resign; among opposition voters, 94% think he should resign.
Despite this, in head-to-head matchups between Netanyahu and his political rivals, only former prime minister Naftali Bennett was considered better suited to be prime minister by the public, the Channel 12 poll found.
Lazar Berman contributed to this report.
