Poll: Most Israeli Jews Support Trump’s Gaza Relocation Proposal

By: JNS Staff

A majority of Israeli Jews support as a practical plan U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposal to relocate Gazans to other countries, according to a survey published on Monday.

In the survey among 650 Jewish adults and 200 Arab ones, conducted for the Jewish People Policy Institute, 52% of Jewish Israelis said that it was “a pragmatic plan that we should try to pursue.” Among Arabs, only 8% gave this answer.

Trump said in January that he’s asked King Abdullah II of Jordan “to take on more, because I’m looking at the whole Gaza Strip right now and it’s a mess, it’s a real mess. You’re talking about a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing.”

He later said Egypt should also take in more Gazans.

In the survey, a majority of Arabs opposed the plan, with 54% saying it should be rejected because it’s immoral. Among Jews, 3% of respondents gave that answer.

Overall, 46% of Jewish and Arab respondents endorsed the plan as a practical goal. Another 30% of Jews and 9% of Arabs said they “don’t think this is a practical solution but I wish it were.” Another 13% of Jews and 18% of Arabs said the plan was “a diversion and we should focus on practical solutions.”

Among Arabs, 11% said they didn’t know, as did only 1% of Jews.

Overall, 46% of respondents said the plan was practical and they supported it; 26% said it wasn’t practical but they supported it; 14% said the plan was a diversion and 13% said it was immoral and should be opposed on those grounds. Another 3% overall said they didn’t know.

The full results of the survey are scheduled to be published next month. The survey has a margin of error of 3.2%.

In other news, JNS reported that Israel responded to multiple violations of the Gaza ceasefire agreement on Tuesday, opening fire against Palestinians who posed a threat to its soldiers, its military stated.

The Israel Defense Forces stated that “an air force aircraft fired to repel suspicious vehicles that were moving north from the center of the Gaza Strip on a route that is not approved for vehicle traffic, without passing through the agreed inspection route.”

The Israeli Navy also fired at Palestinian vessels that defied security restrictions in Gaza’s maritime zone and failed to comply with a demand to return to the Strip’s shore, the IDF said. Subsequent fire forced the vessels to change course, Israel said.

In the central part of Gaza, soldiers shot at two Palestinians who, the IDF said, posed a threat to its forces. When warning shots failed to deter the two, Israeli troops fired a live round and “a hit was detected,” the IDF said.

Israeli forces throughout Gaza also fired warning shots “to repel suspects who were moving towards them and posed a threat,” per the IDF.

The Israeli military said it remained “determined to fully implement the terms of the deal to return hostages, is prepared for any scenario and will continue to take all necessary actions to remove immediate threats.” The IDF called on Palestinian noncombatants to “obey IDF instructions and not approach the soldiers deployed in the area.”

Since Jan. 28, Gazans have been allowed to cross into the northern part of the Gaza Strip.

          (JNS.org)