Most Israelis think time right to end war, 45% want PM to quit immediately — poll

A majority of Israelis believe the time has come to end the war in Gaza, with the top reason being the endangerment of hostages, according to a poll by the Israel Democracy Institute released on Monday, as negotiations were set to begin on the first stage of US President Donald Trump’s peace proposal.

The survey found that 66 percent of Israelis say the time has come to end the war — a figure 13 points higher than the result from a year ago when respondents were asked the same question — compared to 27% who think or are certain that the time has not yet come, and 7% who are unsure.

The top reason both Jewish (50.5%) and Arab Israeli (34.5%) respondents gave that the war should end is the endangerment of the hostages.

Among those who think the war should not be ended, 56% of respondents say operations must continue “to topple and remove Hamas,” while 28% believe continued fighting is key to freeing the hostages.

Other reasons include ensuring Jewish settlements are built in Gaza (6.5%), revenge for the October 7, 2023, massacre that sparked the war (4%), and preventing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition from falling (2%).

Israeli and Hamas negotiators arrived in Egypt on Monday for talks on US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan to end the war in Gaza and free all 48 remaining hostages, at least 20 of them alive.

According to Trump’s plan, Israel, in return for the hostages, is expected to release 250 Palestinian prisoners with life sentences and more than 1,700 detainees from the Gaza Strip who were arrested after October 7, 2023.

The IDI poll published on Monday also found that 66% of Israelis think Netanyahu should take responsibility for the failures surrounding Hamas’s October 7 attack and resign, either immediately (45%) or after the war (19%).

According to the poll, 18% believe he should accept responsibility and not resign, 13% believe he should do neither, while 5% of respondents answered they didn’t know.

“The share of those who think that Netanyahu should accept responsibility and resign immediately is much higher among Arabs (67%) than among Jews (41%),” the IDI said in a statement.

While a majority of centrist (63%) and left-wing Jews (88%) believe Netanyahu should quit now, right-wingers are divided, according to the poll, which found 23% in that group think he should step down immediately, 25% believe he should resign at the end of the war, 27% think he should accept responsibility and not resign, and 21.5% believe he should do neither.

Despite receiving several warnings by the security establishment in the years and months before October 7, Netanyahu has avoided taking responsibility for the massacre, repeatedly asserting that the security establishment — not political leaders — failed to prevent the deadliest attack in Israel’s history. He has also refused to authorize a state commission of inquiry into the failures surrounding October 7.

The IDI survey was conducted via the internet and telephone between September 14-18, with 800 participants interviewed in Hebrew, 200 in Arabic, and with a sampling error of 3.10%.