Even at expense of hostage deal: 49% agree with Netanyahu, want IDF presence in Philadelphi Corridor – poll

43% of respondents support IDF withdrawal from Gaza-Egypt border to secure a hostage deal

Read this article in:

Forty-nine percent of Israeli Jews say they agree with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s position that Israel should maintain a presence in the Philadelphi Corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border, even if that decision causes Hamas to refuse a hostage deal.

The poll was conducted by the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) just hours after IDF soldiers recovered the bodies of six Israeli hostages who were murdered by Hamas terrorists shortly before.

The survey didn’t include Arab Israelis “because of recent events and the urgency of the debate,” and a similar poll among Arab Israelis is still ongoing JPPI clarified.

Of those surveyed, 49% of Jewish Israelis agreed with the statement: “Israel must not relinquish control of the Philadelphi Corridor even at the expense of a hostage deal.”

The opposing statement, “Israel should give up control of the Philadelphi Corridor to enable a hostage deal,” found agreement with 43%. The remaining respondents said they “didn’t know.”

In a rare press conference on Monday, Netanyahu outlined his belief that yielding to international demands to exit Gaza prematurely – even temporarily withdrawing the IDF from the Egyptian border area – would be a grave strategic mistake. He argued that such a move would allow Hamas to regroup and rearm, placing Israelis in grave danger.

“The axis of evil needs the Philadelphi Corridor and for that same reason we must control it,” Netanyahu stressed.

The JPPI noted that while the poll results showed a plurality of the Jewish population supporting the government’s policy on this issue, this likely isn’t the case when considering Israeli society as a whole, including Arab citizens.

“Previous JPPI surveys have shown time and again that a clear and large majority of Israeli Arabs are likely to support any realistic hostage deal proposed by international mediators.”

On Tuesday, former war cabinet ministers Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot slammed Netanyahu’s insistence on staying in Philadelphi, arguing the security establishment’s position that the IDF could always recapture the corridor at a later point.

The JPPI study provided a breakdown of the results according to the political convictions of the respondents.

Over 90% of “left” and “center-left” respondents said they preferred a hostage deal over an Israeli presence in the corridor.

Those in the center were split 29%-65% in favor of a hostage deal.

On the right side of the political spectrum, the majorities supporting a continued Israeli presence in the corridor were smaller than those opposing it on the left.

Only 59% on the “center-right,” and 85% on the “right,” said they supported Israel maintaining control of the Philadelphi Corridor, rather than relinquishing it in favor of a hostage deal.