Poll finds quarter of Israelis have weighed fleeing from ongoing war
3 Min Read
According to the poll, 24% of respondents who have considered leaving have looked into housing options abroad.
-
An off-duty Israeli occupation soldier carrying her M-16 rifle walks down the street in Tel Aviv, occupied Palestine on September 27, 2024. (AP)
According to a study conducted by Kantar Insights and the Israeli Kan public broadcaster during the last year, about a quarter of Israelis have considered leaving the occupation due to the multifront war.
"Israel" has been conducting a genocidal war on Gaza for the last year, and its aggression against neighboring Lebanon has intensified in recent weeks, with over 2,000 Lebanese killed.
It has also launched an attack against Yemen and is currently contemplating a strike on Iran after the latter struck the occupation with Operation True Promise 2.
The survey, which was conducted last week among a representative sample of Israeli settlers, found that 1% of respondents claimed they have previously left and returned or want to return. 23% indicated they had contemplated leaving, either temporarily or permanently, but haven't done so; 67% said they haven't considered leaving; and 9% didn't respond or claimed they didn't know.
Unsurprisingly, the poll reveals that current opposition party voters (36%) are more inclined than coalition voters (14%) to consider leaving the country. Secular respondents are also more likely to have considered migrating than their religious counterparts.
According to the poll, 24% of respondents who have considered leaving have looked into housing options abroad, 21% have looked into job opportunities, 15% have obtained or attempted to obtain a foreign passport or visa, and 5% have looked into education options for their children. Only 36% have not made such practical inquiries.
One year into war on Gaza, 'Israel' grapples with upper echelon exodus
The war on Gaza has not only significantly impacted the Israeli occupation's economic standing, but Israelis are also growing exhausted and thus are fleeing, according to The Telegraph, and this can be attributed to the potential of an all-out war, with Hezbollah's operations ongoing undeterred despite the Israeli military's claims otherwise.
Alon Eizenberg, a Bank of Israel consultant, believes the departures are especially troubling for "Israel's" IT sector, which is critical to its economy.
"Some brain drain and loss of human capital will be inevitable," he pointed out.
The tourism industry in the occupation has been struck severely, with Coface BDI estimating that up to 60,000 enterprises may collapse in 2024, particularly smaller ones grappling with manpower shortages.
Many workers have been summoned into reserve duty, resulting in a shortage of trained labor. Evacuations have also hurt the agriculture sector, resulting in higher food costs.
Furthermore, development has stopped due to the departure of 80,000 Palestinian laborers from the West Bank, raising worries about rising housing expenses for the general public.
A 38-year-old Israeli settlers reported feeling it was "very hard psychologically" to deal with inflation.
Itai Ater, from Tel Aviv University, expressed deep concern over the economic situation, highlighting the entity's downgrading by credit rating agencies.
"Israel" has shifted from a budget surplus to a deficit of 8.3% of GDP in the past year, with £19 billion already spent on the aggression.
Ater described the government as "completely dysfunctional", highlighting its inability to make necessary tough decisions and warning that any escalation could further harm the economy and further grow a sense of despair.
