72% of Israelis think Netanyahu should take responsibility for Oct 7 failures, almost 50% want him to resign immediately

Almost half of the Israeli people think Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should take responsibility for his part in the Oct. 7, 2023, failures and resign now, according to a poll conducted by the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI) at the end of February.

The survey by IDI, a left-leaning think tank, was carried out among a representative sample of the adult population in Israel, comprising 605 Jewish and 154 Arab interviewees.

The IDI poll asked: “Until now, Prime Minister Netanyahu has not accepted any responsibility for the events of October 7, and has not resigned. What do you think the prime minister should do: accept responsibility and resign immediately; accept responsibility, but resign only after the end of the war; accept responsibility, but not resign; or not accept responsibility and not resign?”

In response, 48% said Netanyahu should resign immediately; 25% said he should take responsibility but resign after the war; 14.5% thought he should accept responsibility without stepping down; and 10% replied Netanyahu should do neither.

“In other words, a clear majority are in favor of the prime minister resigning either now or after the war (72.5%), and fully 87% think that he should accept responsibility for October 7, whether or not he resigns,” IDI wrote.

Only 25.5% of people identifying themselves as “right-wing” said the prime minister should resign immediately, compared to 83.5% on the left.

While Netanyahu has hinted at his responsibility for the catastrophe several times, he has not provided a detailed statement regarding his own failures, while reportedly pressuring Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar to resign for the same reason.

Several Israeli military officers, including former Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, have resigned in recent months.

The survey also asked respondents who or what they credited for the implementation of the hostage deal in recent months. The choices were: “Prime Minister Netanyahu; US President Trump; the negotiating team led by the heads of the Mossad and the Shin Bet (Barnea and Bar); IDF pressure in the Gaza Strip; and demonstrations and pressure from the hostages’ families?”

Here, Netanyahu received the lowest share (41.5%) while the highest share went to Trump (85.5%).

The contribution of the other factors was largely seen as positive: military pressure( 69%); the negotiating team (65%); and demonstrations and pressure from the hostages’ families(60%).

Trump’s plans for the evacuation and reconstruction of the Gaza Strip were seen as constructive and “reinvigorating” a “debate about solution” by a majority of the poll respondents (64%).

Even those who identified themselves as “left-wing,” 69% credited Trump with starting a constructive debate. However, while 73% of Israeli Jews agreed with the statement, only 23% of the Arabs concurred.

The survey also revealed that the majority of Israeli society holds strong trust in Trump.

whether they believed Trump might distance himself from Israel in the future, as he did with Ukraine, if he felt its policies were not aligned with U.S. interests.

Those polled were asked whether they believed Trump might distance himself from Israel in the future, as he did with Ukraine, “if he thinks that its policies are not aligned with the interests of the United States.”

Just over half of respondents assessed the likelihood of this scenario as “fairly” or “very low.” However, 27.5% considered it “fairly high,” while another 11% believed it to be “very high.”

Skepticism was significantly higher among those on the political left compared to the right, where only a third saw a “high” likelihood of Trump distancing himself from Israel in the future.