More than two-thirds (69%) of Israelis fear that the prolonged war in Gaza will harm the nation’s social cohesion, according to a Maariv poll published on Friday.
Only a fourth (26%) are not concerned, while 5% expressed no opinion.
The second most serious concern related to the prolonged war in Gaza is personal economic harm, with two-thirds (66%) expressing that worry; 30% said they are not concerned about this, while 4% have no opinion.
Concerning personal security, 63% fear harm in Israel or abroad, while 31% are not concerned, and 6% have no opinion. However, 59% say they are not concerned that the prolonged war will harm them on a personal, relationship, or family level.
In the same poll, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition gained one seat, up from 49 seats in the previous survey, against the backdrop of anticipation over the next operation in the Gaza Strip, clashes between the political and military echelons, and tensions with the attorney-general.
By contrast, the opposition bloc, together with parties led by Naftali Bennett and Gadi Eisenkot, stands at 60 seats (no longer a majority, down from 61), while the Arab parties received a combined 10 seats.
Voting for possible new parties
Asked how they would vote if two new parties led by Bennett and Eisenkot entered the race, with all other parties unchanged, respondents gave the following results:
Likud under Netanyahu remains with 23 seats; a party led by Bennett would receive 21 seats; the Democrats Party would receive 10; a party led by Eisenkot would receive nine, down two from last week; Shas and Yisrael Beytenu would receive nine seats each (the latter up one from eight); United Torah Judaism and Otzma Yehudit would receive seven each (the latter up one from six); Yesh Atid would receive six, down from seven; Ra’am and Hadash-Ta’al would receive five each; Blue and White would receive five, up from four; and Religious Zionist would receive four.
The survey was carried out between Wednesday and Thursday, among 502 adult respondents, both Jews and Arabs. The maximum sampling error is +/-4.4%. The survey was conducted for Maariv by Lazar Research, headed by Dr. Menachem Lazar, in cooperation with the online respondent panel Panel4All.