Just 8% of Israeli Jews back self-rule for Gaza

New poll shows little support for either the Palestinian Authority or the United Nations governing Gaza after the war, with Israeli rule remaining the most popular option.

By World Israel News Staff

A plurality of Israelis believe Israel should retain control over the Gaza Strip for the long term after the war with Hamas ends, according to a poll released by the Pew Research Center last week.

The poll was conducted from February 5th through March 11th of this year and published last Friday. It surveyed 998 Jewish Israeli adults in face-to-face interviews.

The survey found a moderate decline in the percentage of Israelis who believe Israel should rule postwar Gaza, falling from 40% in 2024 to 33%.

Broken down by ethnicity, 42% of Israeli Jews in 2025 say Israel should rule Gaza after the war, compared to 50% in 2024, while that figure remained more stable among Arab respondents, falling by just one point from 3% to 2%.

Among the general population, just 1% believe Hamas should be allowed to continue to rule Gaza after the war – with no Jewish respondents backing this position, while 5% of Arab respondents favor leaving the Islamist group in power.

Just 8% of Israeli Jews say Gaza should be governed by the “people who live there,” while 45% of Arab Israelis favor this option.

Thirteen percent of Israeli Jews say the Palestinian Authority should have a role in governing postwar Gaza, though respondents were divided on whether the PA must replace the incumbent chairman, Mahmoud Abbas, for such an arrangement to be implemented. Just 6% back PA rule of Gaza under Abbas’ leadership.

Only 1% of Israeli Jews say the United Nations should be tasked with administering the Gaza Strip, while 35% say they either do not know who should manage the coastal enclave or have an alternative answer not provided as an option.