A recent online opinion poll, conducted by the Lazar Institute and Panel4All, revealed that a striking 80% of Israelis believe that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should publicly take responsibility for the inefficient security apparatus that allowed for the Hamas Oct. 7 attacks to take place.
Data included responses by 510 respondents reflected how the average Israeli citizen is trying to wrap his mind around what he thought before to be an infallible security system and an impregnable separation wall.
High-ranking Israeli officials have already taken responsibility for the security failure, including the ministers of defense and of finance.
The army chief of staff, the head of military intelligence, and the head of the Shin Bet intelligence services all admitted that their services failed to foresee the attack, which claimed the lives of over 1,400 Israelis.
The poll, which was commissioned by the Maariv newspaper, found out that 69% of Netanyahu’s own Likud party supporters think he should accept responsibility for the happening. In comparison, only 8% of the general public agreed he should not.
For the choice of leaders, 49% of respondents picked National Unity party leader Benny Gantz for the position of Prime Minister, while only 28% chose Netanyahu, with no clear-cut majority for either. The poll showed Gantz’s party gaining momentum and reaching 40 seats, compared to the current coalition’s 43 MPs (down from 64).
Amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, 65% of Israelis favored a ground offensive, while 21% opposed it. Also, 51% supported a large-scale military operation on the northern front in response to rising tensions with Hamas and Hezbollah in Lebanon, while 30% preferred a smaller military operation.