Israel: Nearly 75% support ceasefire, prisoner exchange deal
A poll which was published on January 18th found that 73% of Israelis are in favour of the prisoner exchange and ceasefire agreement with Hamas in Gaza, arranged through global mediation, Anadolu Agency reports.
The survey, carried out by the Israeli daily Maariv in partnership with the Lazar Research Center, was conducted between January 15th-16th, and revealed a large amount of approval for the deal among the Israeli people.
The survey revealed that 45% strongly support the agreement, 28% somewhat support it, which meant the overall approval reached 73%. But 19% of Israelis were against the deal and 8% were neutral on the subject.
The survey also showed that 91% of opposition voters in Israel support the agreement, while 52% of voters from the governing right-wing coalition of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also back the agreement, in spite of 37% being against it.
The agreement, which was officially okayed by the Israeli government on the morning of January 18th, came after nearly eight hours of deliberations.
The approval was made as 24 ministers voted in favour of the agreement, while eight ministers were against it.
READ: Deaths in Israeli strikes on Gaza rise to 77 since ceasefire deal
On January 15th, Qatar announced a three-phase ceasefire agreement to stop over 25 months of lethal attacks from Israel on the Gaza strip.
According to local health authorities, almost 46,900 Palestinians which were mainly women and children were killed and over 110,600 were injured during Israel’s war on Gaza since October 7th 2023.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November last year to Netanhayu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza.
Israel also faces a case of genocide at the International Court of Justice over its war in the enclave.
The National reported on January 13th, that a draft framework for a potential agreement was leaked, The framework presented the idea of a 42-day truce, the release of Hamas’ hostages at different stages and the partial withdrawal of Israel from Gaza.
On January 17th, the Israeli security cabinet gave the green light for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal, according to The New Arab via Reuters.
Anadolu Agency, The National, The New Arab via Reuters
