About half of Jewish Israelis believe that no side emerged victorious in the last round of fighting between Israel and the Gaza Strip and only 35% believe Israel won, according to a new poll published by the Israel Victory Project on Wednesday.
The poll, carried out by the Midgam company, sought the opinions of 503 Jewish Israelis who make up "a statistical representation of the Israel's Jewish population," according to an Israel Victory Project press release.
About half the respondents said that Operation Guardian of the Walls last month was more successful than Operation Protective Edge in 2014, while 23% thought that neither operation was successful.
About a third of respondents said they believe that the operation will restore calm to southern Israel, while only 27% of residents of southern Israel agreed. Half the respondents stated that they believe that the operation achieved some form of deterrence.
Some two thirds believe that Operation Guardian of the Walls ended too soon and that it should have continued until "the crushing of Hamas' ability and desire to fight Israel, and the return of the captives and missing persons."
Three-quarters (74%) of stated that they believe that Israel should not have conducted a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip as it would have led to many casualties.
But most respondents also showed support for more aggressive policies against Hamas and some 90% expressed support for assassinating Hamas commanders even if not during an operation. Some 76% supported halting Qatari funding to Gaza and 74% supported barring building supplies from Gaza.
As many as 82% of respondents said they believe that there is no possibility of reconciliation or a long-term ceasefire with Hamas until the terrorist group is completely defeated.
A little over a third (37%) of respondents expressed support for the occupation of the Gaza Strip and the disarmament of Hamas, although more than half (54%) opposed such a move.
"A new government is currently being formed in Israel and its duty is to pursue a new policy on the conflict with Hamas," said Gregg Roman, chief operations officer of the Middle East Forum."The Israeli public deserves leadership that knows how to win. The data emerging from the survey show that the Israeli public wants its leadership to stop managing the conflict and start working to dissolve Hamas, disarm it and return the prisoners and missing persons."
"Only through an unequivocal decision that can be reached by economic, military and political means - while standing firm in the face of international pressure - can the conflict be won and ended," added Roman.