An overwhelming 67% of Israelis are in favor of a hostage exchange that would bring about a ceasefire, a Maariv poll published on Thursday found.
While the majority of poll respondents favored a hostage deal and ceasefire similar to the one implemented in November, 22% of respondents said they were opposed to making a deal in exchange for a ceasefire. 11% of respondents said they were unsure.
Across political lines, 84% of the voters of left-wing opposition parties before the establishment of the emergency government answered that they support the execution of a deal under the conditions presented.
Among the voters of right-wing coalition parties, the opinion was more polarizing – 51% of respondents answered that they supported the deal, compared to 35% who said they were opposed.
Will Israel, Hamas agree to another deal?
The survey was conducted amid the backdrop of talks between Israel and Hamas in an attempt to reach a new hostage exchange agreement over the last few days.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that Hamas rejected an Israeli proposal to stop the fighting for at least a week in exchange for the release of hostages. It was further reported today that the terrorist organization has further hardened its position and stated that “there will be no further deal until the end of the war”.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been accused of taking a similarly-hard stance: “We fight until victory. We will not stop the war until we complete all its goals – the elimination of Hamas and the release of all our hostages,” Netanyahu has said.
The survey was conducted by “Lazar Research” and led by Dr. Menachem Lazar in collaboration with the panel of Internet respondents Panel4All.co.il. It was conducted from Wednesday to Thursday and was answered by 502 respondents, who are a representative sample of the adult population in Israel – both Jewish and Arab. The maximum sampling error was 4.3%.
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