Majority of Israeli Jews think 2005 Gaza pullout was mistake: poll

A majority of Israeli Jews polled by the Israel Democracy Institute said that the Gaza pullout was a mistake and hurt Israel’s interests. 

By: World Israel News Staff

A majority of Israeli Jews said Israel made a mistake in 2005 when it evacuated the Jewish communities in the Gaza Strip and pulled out all military forces, according to poll conducted by the Israel Democracy Institute.

In its monthly Peace Index Poll, the IDI asked respondents:

“In retrospect, do you think Israel’s unilateral disengagement from the Gaza Strip in 2005 was a smart move or not a smart move from the standpoint of Israel’s national interest?”

The majority of the Jewish sample (56%) responded that the disengagement was not a smart move.

When IDI conducted a poll in June 2006 on the same subject, exactly half of the respondents said they saw it as a mistake compared to 46% who disagreed. As time passed since then the number of Israelis who think that the disengagement was a bad idea has steadily increased, though moderately.

A military operation in Gaza against Hamas also has support among Israel.

Sixty-one percent of the Jewish public thinks that from the standpoint of Israel’s interest, the IDF should launch a wide-scale military operation against Hamas in Gaza if it violates the ceasefire.

Asked what Israel should do, if anything, for Syrian refugees, 78% said they favored giving them food and medical aid. At the same time 80% opposed letting the refugees into Israel, even if their lives were in danger.

The nation-state law was another subject that the IDI poll surveyed. “In your opinion, was there or was there not a need for the law to make this declaration at this time?” the poll asked.

Fifty-two percent said the law needed while 40% claimed that it was not needed. Sixty percent said the drafters of the law should have included the component of equality.