A majority of Jewish Israelis think ending the war with Iran under current conditions is against their country’s interests, widening a rift with an international community favouring a permanent ceasefire.
Sixty-four per cent of Jewish Israelis think “ending the war is incompatible with security interests”, according to a survey by the Israel Democracy Institute, one of the foremost think tanks in the country.
The poll published on Tuesday also found 62 per cent of respondents, both Jews and Palestinian Israelis, thought there was a high likelihood of large-scale conflict with Iran returning.
In a further sign of anxiety among Israelis, just 39 per cent of respondents were optimistic about the future of their country’s national security, down from 47 per cent in March.
The IDI survey also found 73 per cent of Israelis thought there was a low likelihood of reaching “a stable diplomatic-defence agreement with the Lebanese government that includes the disarming of Hezbollah”, as fighting continues in southern Lebanon.
The two countries entered rare direct talks under US supervision last month. A ceasefire declaration has failed to stop exchanges of fire.
The polling was published amid frantic international diplomacy to contain fighting, which flared up at the beginning of the week as Iran fired on the UAE, testing a fragile truce. China was the latest country to call for a ceasefire, after a meeting between the Chinese and Iranian foreign ministers in Beijing. A statement released afterwards said “a complete cessation of hostilities is of utmost urgency”.
Early on Wednesday morning, US President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that his Project Freedom operation to get shipping through the blockaded Strait of Hormuz “will be paused for a short period of time” to allow time for an agreement with Iran.
Mr Trump said in the same post that “great progress has been made towards a complete and final agreement with representatives of Iran”. US outlet Axios reported that the White House believes Washington and Tehran are “closing in on” a one-page agreement to end the war, citing two American officials and two sources briefed on the matter.
An end to the war would put Israel in a difficult position, in particular with regard to Iran’s nuclear programme. Ending it has been a primary focus of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s long career. He says an Iranian leadership in possession of a nuclear weapon would be an existential danger to Israel.
Last week, Israeli media quoted a military official saying that if Iran’s current stockpile of nuclear material was not removed, the entire war would be “one big failure” for Israel. Iran is currently thought to have about 440kg of uranium enriched to 60 per cent.
