SUPPORT FOR the attack on Gaza is solid across the spectrum of Israeli opinion despite international horror at the mounting death toll, according to the latest polls.
More than 90 per cent of Jewish Israelis back the invasion, although that view is reversed among Israeli Arabs, according to the latest War and Peace Index in December.
Attitudes among Israelis are so hardened that 80 per cent would oppose Israel opening its crossings to Gaza even if Hamas stopped firing on southern towns such as Ashkelon and Sderot, the monthly survey, conducted by Tel Aviv University for the last 15 years, showed.
The base point for the Israeli perspective is 2005, when the Jewish state unilaterally withdrew its military bases and settlers from inside Gaza. “The Israeli public sees that the Palestinians had their chance and instead of using it they decided to attack,” said Ephraim Yaar, who conducts the survey.
Palestinians see the conflict in a wider historical context, dating back at least to 1967, when Israel began occupying the West Bank and Gaza after the Six Day War.
But to Israelis, the past three years have unfolded exactly as the right predicted.
Hamas and other militant groups turned Gaza into a launching pad to fire rockets into southern Israeli towns.
“The left is now buying the argument that if you can’t make the Israelis and the Palestinians love each other then the best we can have is a balance of fear,” said Paul Frosh of Hebrew University, who said he normally voted for Meretz, a left-wing party closely aligned to the peace movement. – (Guardian service)