Verity Bowman
Fri, October 20, 2023
Families of people taken hostage by Hamas call for Netanyahu to resign - Alexi J Rosenfeld/Getty
An overwhelming majority of Israelis believe that prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is responsible for the deadly Hamas attacks.
A total of 80 per cent said Mr Netanyahu should publicly accept the blame for the staggering failures that led to the deaths of at least 1,400 Israelis.
The figure includes 69 per cent of those who voted for the premier’s Likud party in last year’s election.
Just eight per cent of the public think Mr Netanyahu is not responsible.
Israelis have become fiercely divided over how the state managed the major breach of security on Oct 7, but these new figures suggest a united opposition to Mr Netanyahu.
Top Israeli politicians have described the attacks as “the greatest failure in the history of Israel”.
Israeli politicians have described the attacks as 'the greatest failure in the country's history' - Debbie Hill/UPI/Shutterstock
Ehud Olmert, the former prime minister of Israel, said Mr Netanyahu had been warned by Israeli intelligence about the possibility of a Hamas attack, but he was “arrogant”.
“Netanyahu doesn’t have the trust of the people, of the families of those who were slaughtered, or of the commanders and the soldiers in the field,” he told France24.
An editorial page in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz also accused Mr Netanyahu of glaring failures.
‘Ignored rights of Palestinians’
It claimed that “embracing a foreign policy that openly ignored the existence and rights of Palestinians” pushed Hamas to fight.
As Israel looks poised to send ground troops into Gaza, the survey found that 65 per cent of the public backs the possibility of an offensive, while 21 per cent oppose it.
The majority of Israelis also supported the possibility of a conflict on the northern border as tensions between Jerusalem and Lebanon soar.
The Iran-backed Hezbollah and its allies have traded cross-border fire with Israel for days.
A total of 51 per cent of Israelis said they would back a large-scale military operation on the northern front.
The survey was conducted by the Lazar Institute, along with Panel4All, among 510 respondents on Oct 18 and 19.
Most Israelis think Netanyahu responsible for failing to prevent Hamas attack, poll shows
Reuters
Fri, October 20, 2023
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - As many as 80% of Israelis believe Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must take responsibility for the security failures exposed by the devastating Oct. 7 assault on Israeli by Hamas, a poll in the Ma'ariv newspaper showed on Friday.
The army chief of staff, the head of military intelligence and the head of the Shin Bet intelligence service have all admitted their services failed to prevent the attack, in which some 1,400 Israelis were killed on the deadliest day in Israel's 75-year-old history.
Netanyahu's coalition partner, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, has also said the government leadership and security leadership had failed to protect the country but the premier himself has yet to make a clear statement of responsibility.
Netanyahu said this week that there are many questions regarding the Oct. 7 attack and "we will investigate everything thoroughly".
Even among voters of Netanyahu's ruling Likud party, 69% said he should accept responsibility.
The survey showed Netanyahu lagging far behind former Defence Minister Benny Gantz, head of an opposition centrist party who joined a unity government last week. It said 48% of respondents thought Gantz would make a better prime minister, compared with only 28% for Netanyahu.
The poll indicated that 65% of Israelis were in support of the expected ground invasion of Gaza by Israeli troops.
The poll was conducted on Oct. 18 and 19 among 510 respondents and had a 4.3% margin of error, Ma'ariv said.
(Reporting by James Mackenzie; editing by Jason Neely)
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