Israeli public splits on truce
A recent poll finds nearly two‑thirds of Israelis oppose the Iran ceasefire and public opinion is split on whether to respect the two‑week truce. That divide suggests any government trying to preserve the pause may have limited political room and that the ceasefire could be politically fragile. (reuters.com)
Nearly two-thirds of Israelis oppose the two-week ceasefire with Iran, and the country is split on whether Israel should keep honoring it. (usnews.com) The poll, released on April 13 by researchers at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, was the first national survey taken after the United States and Iran agreed last week to a truce brokered by Pakistan. It found 39 percent want Israel to resume attacks on Iran, 41 percent want Israel to wait, and 19 percent are unsure. (usnews.com) The survey drew on 1,312 Israeli respondents, according to reporting that cited Agam Labs at Hebrew University. Separate coverage said only 15 percent backed the ceasefire, underscoring how little support the pause has won. (jewishbreakingnews.com, algemeiner.com) The truce froze United States and Israeli airstrikes on Iran, but it did not stop the parallel war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Weekend talks in Islamabad failed to produce a broader agreement to end the war. (usnews.com, apnews.com) That distinction shows up in the polling. More than 61 percent of Israelis said the truce should not extend to fighting with Hezbollah, while Hezbollah has kept firing rockets at towns in northern Israel and Israeli strikes in Lebanon have continued. (wiky.com, apnews.com) The numbers also land in the middle of Israeli election politics. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s standing in the Hebrew University poll fell to 34 percent preferring him as premier, down from 40 percent at the start of the Iran war, and Reuters reported that an election is due by October. (uk.news.yahoo.com) Other polling points in the same direction on public mood. The Institute for National Security Studies found 73 percent of Israelis believe Israel will have to renew military action against Iran within a year, and 76 percent said negotiations would not achieve the war’s stated aims. (algemeiner.com) Israeli frustration appears tied to war aims that many people do not think were met. The New York Times reported that many Israelis see Iran’s regime still in place and its nuclear and missile threats still intact after weeks of fighting. (nytimes.com) For now, the ceasefire is holding on paper, but the polling suggests any Israeli government trying to preserve it would be doing so without a clear domestic mandate. (usnews.com, apnews.com)
