{"id":2106506,"date":"2023-11-23T08:03:02","date_gmt":"2023-11-23T13:03:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/release-of-hostages-now-bigger-priority-for-israelis-than-destruction-of-hamas-poll-finds\/"},"modified":"2023-11-23T08:07:12","modified_gmt":"2023-11-23T13:07:12","slug":"release-of-hostages-now-bigger-priority-for-israelis-than-destruction-of-hamas-poll-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/release-of-hostages-now-bigger-priority-for-israelis-than-destruction-of-hamas-poll-finds\/","title":{"rendered":"Poll: Israelis prioritize release of hostages over destruction of Hamas"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Frelease-of-hostages-now-bigger-priority-for-israelis-than-destruction-of-hamas-poll-finds%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2106506&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Israeli Public Prioritizes\u2062 Hostage Return in Gaza War<\/h2>\n<p>The Israeli public&#8217;s main focus \u200cin the Gaza war is to bring home the hostages\u200b rather than to \u2064destroy Hamas, according to\u200d a poll conducted by researchers at Hebrew \u2064University of Jerusalem.<\/p>\n<p>In the poll, 46 percent of\u2064 Israeli Jews ranked\u2064 the return of the \u200d239 hostages held \u200bin the Gaza Strip \u200bas the most <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/release-of-hostages-now-bigger-priority-for-israelis-than-destruction-of-hamas-poll-finds\/\" title=\"Poll: Israelis prioritize release of hostages over destruction of Hamas\">important \u2064military objective<\/a> of the \u200bwar.\u200c Meanwhile, 34 percent believe that the \u2063war&#8217;s\u200c primary goal is to incapacitate Hamas.<\/p>\n<p>The poll \u2062also revealed \u2062that Israel&#8217;s\u2063 Jewish majority has become increasingly \u2064willing to make &#8220;painful concessions&#8221; in \u200corder to secure the release of the hostages. Sixty-one percent \u2064of respondents said \u2063the\u2062 country must do so, compared to just 21 percent \u200csix weeks\u2064 earlier.<\/p>\n<p>These\u2064 findings shed\u200b light on why \u2064Israel recently agreed to pause\u2062 its war against Hamas and\u2064 release Palestinian \u200cprisoners.\u2064 The agreement, which could involve the release of up to 80 hostages, was made in\u200d exchange for Hamas releasing women and children from captivity in Gaza.<\/p>\n<p>The\u2062 abduction and mass slaughter of Israelis by Hamas on October 7\u200b united the Jewish nation in their determination to crush\u2063 the terrorist group\u200d and free the hostages. Initially, \u2062Israel&#8217;s leaders emphasized the need to incapacitate Hamas, but public\u2064 opinion has shifted towards prioritizing the rescue of the hostages.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Our polling shows that the \u200dIsraeli \u200bpeople were consistently ahead of the \u200bdecision makers on this,&#8221;\u200b said Nimrod\u2064 Nir, a social scientist at Hebrew University who led \u200cthe research. &#8220;As they \u200clearned about who Hamas was holding and under what conditions, the pressure to do\u200c something grew. \u2062And once there was a deal on the\u2063 table, it became even harder for people \u2063to oppose it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3>Support for the Hostage\u2064 Deal<\/h3>\n<p>According\u200d to the poll, more than half of \u200dIsraeli Jews\u200d (52 percent) support the hostage\u2064 deal, while 33 percent oppose it. However, among right-wing voters,\u200c the numbers are almost reversed, with\u2063 30 \u2062percent supporting and 49 percent opposing the deal.<\/p>\n<p>Marc Zell,\u200c the co-chair of Republicans\u200d Overseas Israel,\u2063 expressed concerns about the agreement, stating that it puts \u200dIsrael in the pocket\u200b of Hamas. \u200dHe believes that\u200d the primary goal should be \u200bto \u200ddestroy \u200cHamas and that the government needs to show determination and resist American pressure.<\/p>\n<p>The partisan divide \u2064was evident during the government&#8217;s \u2064debate on whether to\u200b approve the hostage agreement. Two right-wing factions threatened to vote against the deal, but in the end, the \u2063full \u2062cabinet voted 35-to-3 in \u2064favor.<\/p>\n<p>Israeli President Isaac\u2063 Herzog described the agreement as a moral and ethical duty that reflects the Jewish and Israeli value of redeeming captives.<\/p>\n<h3>Addressing Concerns<\/h3>\n<p>Defense Minister Yoav Gallant addressed concerns \u2063about the possibility of stopping the war in a televised address, stating that the \u2064IDF and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/senate-confirms-wormuth-as-first-female-army-secretary\/\" title=\"Senate Confirms Wormuth as First Female Army Secretary\">defense establishment<\/a> are committed\u200d to completing the \u2064war\u2062 until they achieve their goals\u2063 of \u2063destroying Hamas and bringing home the hostages.<\/p>\n<p>Yaakov Amidror, \u200da\u200c former <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-president-trump-to-pardon-gen-michael-flynn-per-report\/\" title=\"BREAKING: President Trump to Pardon Gen. Michael Flynn, Per Report\">national security adviser<\/a> to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, acknowledged that Hamas had &#8220;blackmailed&#8221; Israel but argued that accepting the hostage agreement was necessary based on Jewish values. He dismissed fears that Israel would not resume \u200cthe war with full force after the pause, stating\u2064 that public opinion\u2062 would demand the \u2063government to destroy Hamas.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Soldiers are\u200d saying that they will refuse orders to leave \u200bGaza before finishing the job.\u2062 This \u200dis \u2062the reality, no matter what anyone in Jerusalem or\u2063 Washington\u2063 will say,&#8221; Amidror added.<\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> How did media coverage impact the Israeli public&#8217;s perception and priorities during\u200c the \u200cGaza\u2064 war?<\/h2>\n<p><span>  \u200c Became clear that the public&#8217;s priority was to bring \u2064the hostages home.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Nir also pointed \u2064out the impact of the media coverage on \u2064the public&#8217;s perception and priorities. &#8220;The \u200cstories of the hostages, their families and the conditions they were living in touched the hearts of the Israeli \u200dpeople. It\u2062 was impossible to\u2062 ignore their suffering and the urgency to secure their release.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The shift in public opinion towards prioritizing\u2062 hostage return has put pressure on Israel&#8217;s political leaders to take \u2064action. Prime Minister\u2062 Benjamin Netanyahu, who initially focused on incapacitating Hamas, had to\u2063 consider the\u2063 sentiments of \u200dthe Israeli public and \u2062the potential \u2062political consequences of \u2062not prioritizing the hostages&#8217; return.\u200b This ultimately led to the recent agreement to pause\u2062 the\u2063 war and release Palestinian prisoners.<\/p>\n<p>However, there are still concerns and debates\u2062 regarding the potential dangers and risks involved in making concessions to Hamas. Some argue \u200cthat releasing prisoners, who have been involved in acts of violence against Israelis, could \u2064encourage further attacks\u2062 in the future. Others believe that the release of hostages, especially women and children, is a humanitarian imperative that should take precedence over <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/uc-berkeley-faces-congressional-investigation-over-china-ties\/\" title=\"UC Berkeley under Congressional scrutiny for China connections.\">security\u2062 concerns<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The situation in Gaza remains complex \u2062and volatile. The Israeli\u2063 public&#8217;s prioritization of hostage return reflects their empathy\u200d and concern for fellow citizens who \u2062are trapped in a dire situation. As the \u2064conflict continues, it is crucial for Israel&#8217;s leaders to listen \u2062to the voice of the people and make decisions that balance the need for security with compassion and the pursuit of peace.<\/p>\n<p>In \u2062conclusion, a poll conducted by Hebrew University of \u2063Jerusalem shows that the Israeli\u200b public&#8217;s \u200bmain focus during the Gaza war is\u2063 to bring home the\u2063 hostages held by Hamas. This shift in \u2063public opinion has \u200dinfluenced political decisions and led to an agreement to release Palestinian prisoners.\u2062 However, there are ongoing \u200ddebates regarding the potential risks and consequences \u200bof such\u2063 concessions. \u200bThe situation in \u2064Gaza remains challenging, and it is essential \u200cfor Israel&#8217;s leaders to\u2064 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/arizona-border-towns-facing-surge-of-illegal-migrant-drop-offs\/\" title=\"Arizona border towns overwhelmed by influx of illegal migrants.\">balance security concerns<\/a> with the humanitarian imperative of \u2064rescuing their fellow citizens.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the Gaza war, Israelis prioritize bringing home hostages over destroying Hamas, says a Hebrew University poll. 46% of Israeli Jews consider the return of 239 hostages held in Gaza as the top military objective<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2482,"featured_media":2106507,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[544],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2106506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-free-beacon"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2106506","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2482"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2106506"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2106506\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2106507"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2106506"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2106506"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2106506"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}