Just Over Half of Arab Israelis Feel They Have “Shared Destiny” With Jewish Israelis, Poll
by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – A new poll shows that just over half (51.6%) of Arab Israeli citizens believe Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza has produced a sense of “shared destiny” between them and Jewish Israeli citizens, the Times of Israel (TOI) reports. Conducted by the Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University, the survey was presented during a conference titled “The Future of Israel” at TAU on Wednesday.
The poll surveyed 502 Arab Israeli adults over the age of 18, including Druze, Christians, and Muslims, TOI reports. The survey aimed to explore expectations for the future of the Gaza Strip and the impact of the war on Arab Israelis.
Concerning what should happen to Gaza after the war ends, 58.5% said the enclave should be run by Palestinians: 24.4% of this group think Gazan authorities should manage the Strip while 19.4% said it should be governed by the Palestinian Authority. A further 14.7% said Hamas should continue its rule in Gaza.
However, 34.4% of those asked said a non-Palestinian body should govern Gaza: 19.4% of this group believe an international force should take control of the enclave while 8.4% said Israel should run it and 6.5% answered that a coalition of Arab states should be in charge.
Regarding the impact of the war on their own lives, 67.8% of respondents said they are in a relatively good economic situation compared to the very difficult circumstances they suffered during the early days of the war triggered by Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, TOI reports.