More than half of Israelis fear 'internal war' in 'Israel': Poll

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Israeli Media
28 Jul 2023 12:17

The results of the poll show that only 38% of Israelis said they are not concerned about an actual internal war.

Israeli police disperse demonstrators blocking the road leading to the Knesset, in occupied Al-Quds, on July 24, 2023 (AP)

A poll published by the Israeli newspaper Maariv showed that 58% of Israeli settlers fear an actual internal war in the Israeli occupation entity, amid chaos and division in an Israeli settler community over the judicial overhaul.

Last week, the Israeli Knesset passed in a final vote a bill to restrict the "reasonableness law", implying that the reason of the cabinet surpasses that of the judiciary. The move sparked widespread violent protests that saw clashes between Israeli settlers and occupation police.

The results of the poll, which was conducted by Lazar Research, showed that only 38% of Israelis said they are not concerned about an actual internal war, while 4% said they are not sure.

According to the poll, the majority of the concerns about a possible internal war in the occupation entity was among opposition voters, who reached 76%, compared to 55% of those who voted for the parties of the current coalition of Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said that they do not fear that matters will reach this extent.

On July 17, Maariv also published an opinion poll that showed that 45% of settlers believe that there is a high possibility in the foreseeable future of a violent internal war in "Israel".

The poll revealed that 43% of Netanyahu's Likud voters believe that judicial amendments should be abandoned to strengthen "national unity", while 70% of the respondents believed that demonstrations outside the homes of elected officials are legitimate.

A couple of days ago, former Israeli occupation prime minister Ehud Olmert told the British news outlet Channel 4 News that "Israel" is nearing an internal war.

"There is a threat. This is a serious threat," Olmert said. "It’s never happened before and we are going into a civil war now."

This also comes as an increasing number of Israeli reservists are ending or threatening to end their military service in protest against the judicial overhaul.