Fewer than a third of Israelis are optimistic about the future of democracy in the Jewish state, new polling has revealed.
Almost 80 per cent of the country believes the government does not have a plan for the day after the end of fighting in Gaza, while a third think other countries have recognised a Palestinian state in recent weeks because they have an ideological hatred of Israel.
The survey, conducted last month by The Israel Democracy Institute (IDI), detailed widespread dissatisfaction with Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
Asked to rate its performance on a range of policies from one to five, with one indicating a “very poor” outcome, Israelis said their leaders had not scored above a three on any issue.
On the treatment of those evacuated from the north of the country following Hezbollah strikes and the state's public diplomacy efforts abroad, voters rated their government just below a two.
They received an average of 2.49 on relations with the US administration, 2.38 on their prosecution of the war in Gaza, and 2.24 on the treatment of those evacuated from the south of Israel.
"Interestingly, the Israeli public (both Jewish and Arab) rates the government’s performance more highly with regard to the treatment of the evacuees from the south than to the treatment of the evacuees from the north,” the IDI said.
"Another interesting finding is that the average grade given by Jews for the fighting against Hezbollah is lower than the average grade for the war in Gaza, while among Arabs, the government scores more highly for its management of the conflict with Hezbollah than for its management of the conflict in Gaza.”
Right wing respondants rated the government higher than those who identified as centrist or left wing.
Irrespective of religous, ethnic or political affiliation, Israelis do not believe their leaders have a plan for the day after hostilities end in Gaza.
While 79 per cent said they believed there was no preperation, just 16 per cent said they did.
Those sceptical that Netanyahu is ready to cope with a devestated Gaza strip following the war include 98 per cent of left wing voters, two thirds of right wing voters, 87 per cent of Arabs, and 78 per cent of Jews.
A majority of supporters of every party other than Shas, which represents mainy strictly Orthodox voters, think the government does not have a plan, including 56 per cent of Likud voters.
Just 28 per cent of Israelis say they are optimistic about the future of democratic rule in their country, down from 50 per cent in 2022.
In recent weeks, Ireland, Spain, Norway and, most recently, Slovenia have all voted to recognise a Palestinian state.
According to the IDI, 22 per cent of Israelis believe this is because of the way in which their country has conducted the war in Gaza, while 23 per cent think they have conceded to international pressure, and one third believe it is because they hate Israel.
Over half meanwhile believe International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan requested an arrest warrant for Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant is because of a long-standing anti-Israel bias at the court.
Just 17 per cent believe it is because of the way in which the IDF has conducted the war.
