Peace Index - May 2024
Swords of Iron War: Aims and War Management
- For the first time since the beginning of the war, there has been a dramatic change in respondents’ preferred priorities for the government in the dilemma between the elimination of Hamas and the release of the hostages by any means possible. There is now a majority both among the entire sample (57%) and among the Jewish sample (55%) that prefers the release of the hostages in any way possible over the former option. The partisan divide regarding this issue is widening. Among opinion holders who voted for the coalition parties, a similar majority as in the previous survey favors the elimination of Hamas (68%). By contrast, support for releasing the hostages increased by 13% among opinion holders who voted for opposition parties (85% in the current survey). The majority of the Arab public retaines its preference for the release of the hostages (66%), while the share of those who do not express an opinion on the issue now rises to 27%.
- Criticism of the way the war is managed is increasing among the Israeli public. A clear majority (63%) of respondents believe the government does not have clear goals in the war. The growing criticism leads even opinion holders among coalition voters to be divided between those who believe that the government has clear goals (53%) and those who believe that it does not (47%). Among opinion holders voting for the opposition, an absolute majority (83%) believe that the government has no clear goals for the war.
