Over half of Israelis against end to Gaza war with Palestinian state

More than one in two Israelis would be against an agreement to stop the Gaza war involving the creation of a Palestinian state and normalisation deals with Arab nations, a new poll has shown.

The Israel Democracy Institute (IDI) survey, conducted from 28 to 30 January, found 51 percent of participants were opposed to the idea, with 36 percent in support, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported.

The question asked was: "Do you support or oppose the notion that as part of a deal to end the war – which will include long-term military quiet, guarantees from the United States, and a peace agreement with Arab states such as Saudi Arabia – Israel should agree to the establishment of a Palestinian state?"

There was a clear political divide, with more than three-quarters of those who vote for the left in favour and almost 80 percent of those on the right against.

Almost seven in 10 Palestinian citizens of Israel who participated were for the creation of a Palestinian state following the Gaza war.

IDI's Tamar Hermann said the Arabs who participated in her organisation's survey include members of the Druze ethnoreligious minority, as well as Christians.

She added: "For them, a Palestinian state may not be very desirable."

However, while Druze are typically viewed as belonging squarely to Israeli society, Christians are an integral part of the Palestinian people, alongside Muslims.

The survey also asked whether participants believed bringing home the hostages or toppling Hamas should be Israel's primary objective in the Gaza war.

Fifty-one percent said returning the hostages should be the main aim, while 36 percent said it should be bringing down Hamas.

While 47 percent of Jews prioritised the hostages and 42 percent put toppling Hamas first, 69 percent of Arabs felt the return of the captives should be the main aim, according to an article on the IDI's website.

Just eight percent prioritised overthrowing Hamas.

Despite Israel's rhetoric about destroying the Palestinian armed group, the war against the strip has caused immense suffering to civilians.

Israel's brutal military campaign has so far killed over 27,700 people in Gaza.

The scale of the killings and the destruction wrought on infrastructure has seen many accuse Israel of committing genocide.

The International Court of Justice last month found that Israel was plausibly breaching the Genocide Convention in Gaza.