In-depth survey of Arab society’s views on the war between Israel and Hamas:
- About one-half of the Arab public (47%) feel that the Israeli response to the attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023 is justified; 44% do not feel that way.
- Most of the Arab public (57%) believe that Hamas militants intentionally harmed women and children in the Western Negev Jewish communities.
- A significant majority (85%) positively view the initiatives by Arab citizens to provide aid to residents of the Western Negev.
- 81% of the respondents report feeling less secure as a result of the war and 59% fear being harassed by Jewish citizens.
- The Arab public feels that Benny Gantz is the best choice to lead the country in the current crisis.
Main Findings:
A large majority (81%) of the Arab public report feeling less secure as a result of the war and 65% report a deterioration in their economic situation.
Who is responsible for the outbreak of the war? 38% believe that Hamas and Israel bear joint responsibility; 24% place responsibility on Hamas; and 21% place responsibility on Israel.
Views are divided among the Arab public as to the response of Israel to Hamas’ terror attack on October 7th: 47% feel that the response was justified while 44% feel it was not.
A majority of the respondents (57%) believe that Hamas militants intentionally harmed residents of the Western Negev Jewish communities (kibbutzim), including women and children, while 32% do not believe so.
One-half of the Arab public (50%) think that the attack by Hamas on October 7 did not contribute to the solution of the Palestinian problem. The rest are divided between those who think it did (21%) and those who think that it had no effect (19%).
Most of the Arab public (58%) do not feel comfortable sharing their feelings and opinions about the general situation in the country against the background of the war. In contrast, a large majority (74%) believe that Arab citizens should indeed express their opinions about the war in public.
A large majority of the Arab public (85%) positively view the initiatives of Arab citizens to assist the residents of the Western Negev. One-half (54%) positively view the participation of Arab citizens in Israel’s global PR campaign. However, a large majority (70%) feel that solidarity between Arabs and Jews in Israel has been weakened following the events of October 7.
A large majority of the respondents (89%) report that they themselves have not been harassed by Jewish citizens; however, more than half (59%) are afraid of that happening against the background of the general situation in the country.
Most of the respondents (60%) feel that the current government coalition will break up soon after the war. Most (66%) are in favor of an Arab party joining the coalition that will form after the next elections.
Who is suited to lead the country in the current crisis? Benny Gantz has significant support (21%) relative to the other candidates, including Yair Lapid (8%), Ahmad Tibi (6%), Mansour Abbas (5%), Ayman Odeh (5%), Sami Abu Shehadeh (4%) and Benjamin Netanyahu (3%). On the other hand, 30% feel that there is currently no suitable candidate.
One-half of the respondents (52%) feel that the two-state solution is the most realistic solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, 25% feel that there is no solution on the horizon and 14% support a one-state solution “from the sea to the river”.
The two dominant components of Arab personal identity are Israeli citizenship (33%) and Arab identity (32%). A small number (8%) feel that Palestinian identity is the dominant component in their personal identity.
Full Findings - here.