Majority of Israelis don’t believe Hezbollah was defeated: Poll
A poll by Israel’s Channel 13 News has found that 61 percent of Israelis believe Israel has not defeated Hezbollah, with just 26 percent of them believing Israel did win. The rest were unsure, according to the poll published last night.
Meanwhile, 44 percent of Israelis polled support the ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah, while 38 percent of people oppose the agreement. Nearly a fifth of the respondents, about 19 percent, did not know how to answer the question.
As for Israel’s war on Gaza, an even larger majority of the public polled, 66 percent, believes that the conflict there should end, with a return of the 101 Israeli captives still held there.
Finally, 67 percent of respondents said they would support the establishment of a state commission of inquiry into the events of October 7, 2023.
Easier for Netanyahu to give up war in Lebanon as it’s not part of ‘greater Israel’
Regarding Netanyahu’s motivation behind agreeing to the ceasefire, Israeli journalist Meron Rapoport says pressure from incoming president Donald Trump is a factor, as he promised voters that there will be peace in Lebanon, but there are other considerations as well.
Rapoport told Al Jazeera that for the influential Israeli “extreme right wing”, Lebanon is not on the agenda to colonise as part of a greater Israel, so it was easier for Netanyahu to give up the war there especially when there are problems of fatigue in the Israeli army.
“The main thing is that Netanyahu and the government want to focus on Gaza. They want to go on with the ethnic cleansing in northern Gaza, change the reality substantially [there]. This may be in preparation for Trump, to make realities on the ground when Trump gets into power,” he said.
But Rapoport added that the focus on Gaza “isn’t a very sure game” as a huge majority of Israelis want the war in Gaza to be over and Netanyahu will have internal problems with the Israeli public.
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