Poll: 77% of Israelis Favor Attacking Iran in Syria

A large majority of Israelis favor continued strikes against Iranian forces helping the Syrian Assad regime. 

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

A recent survey shows most Israelis want the government to continue its tough line against Iranian threats, Israel Hayom reported Wednesday.

Over three-quarters (77%)  of citizens surveyed agree that Israel must continue attacking Iranian targets in Syria.

Last month, Israel admitted conducting over 200 raids into Syria, targeting weapons depots, missile launchers and military positions run by the Islamic Republic’s Revolutionary Guards.

A smaller majority (57%) agree that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is doing a good job on the Iran issue — a significant drop from a Ma’ariv poll in May which showed 69 percent agreeing with his policies on both Iran and Syria.

Taking on Iran directly

A significant majority of those surveyed – 56% – agree that Israel should take direct military action against Iran in order to thwart its nuclear program. This is in line with Ma’ariv‘s May poll which found a similar number agreed that it would be better to fight Iran sooner than later.

According to the new poll, 38 percent of Israelis consider the Islamic Republic of Iran a danger to the state, giving it first place on the enemy list. Hamas came in second at 38 percent, followed by the Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions movement (11%) and the Palestinian Authority (7%).

The Jerusalem Institute of Strategic Studies commissioned the poll which was conducted by  Maagar Mochot – the Interdisciplinary Research and Consulting Institute.