A new poll conducted in Israel found widespread support for ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from Gaza as proposed by President Donald Trump.
A poll from the Jewish People Policy Institute Israel Index released Monday found that 80% of Jewish Israelis support Trump’s proposal to clean out the Gaza Strip of Palestinians.
Last month, Trump said, “You’re talking about a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing.” He continued, “It’s literally a demolition site. Almost everything is demolished, and people are dying there, so I’d rather get involved with some of the Arab nations and build housing at a different location where they can maybe live in peace for a change.”
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich quickly endorsed the proposal and said he would work to implement it. “I am working with the prime minister and the cabinet to prepare an operational plan and ensure the realization of President Trump’s vision,” he said.
The Israeli Jewish population is divided on whether the plan is practical. Among Jewish Israelis, a narrow majority (52%) believe that Trump’s plan is “practical” and should be pursued. An additional 30% view cleaning out Gaza as “not practical, but desirable.”
Just over one in ten Israeli Jews viewed Trump’s proposal as a “distraction.” Only 3% replied that the ethnic cleansing of Gaza is “immoral.”
Among supporters of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, 71% view the plan as desirable and practical.
The press release from the Jewish People Policy Institute noted the results are a dramatic shift for Israel Jews who once opposed the ethnic cleansing of Gaza. “Shifting Views on Population Transfer Overall, the idea of significantly relocating Gaza’s Palestinian population—once considered illegitimate by many Israelis—now enjoys broad support among Jewish Israelis.” It adds, “When there is opposition, it is typically based on practicality (“a distraction”) rather than principle.”
