Four out of five Jewish Israelis think Israel should continue fighting the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon regardless of developments in the war against Iran, even if doing so results in friction with the United States, a survey found.

The Israel Democracy Institute poll, which was conducted April 9-12 and the results of which were published Monday, found a large gap between Jewish and Arab Israelis’ attitudes toward the fighting with Iran and its Lebanese proxy.

Among Jews, a full half said they were “certain” Israel should continue fighting Hezbollah. A further 30 percent said they thought it should, and only 11.5% said they thought or were certain it should not. The remaining 8.5% said they did not know.

Among Arabs, by contrast, just 19% of respondents said they thought or were certain Israel should keep fighting Hezbollah, while a majority (66%) said they thought or were certain it should not. The remaining 15% said they did not know.

Asked about the US-Iran ceasefire announced last week, only about a quarter (26%) of Jewish Israelis said they felt somewhat or very relieved when they heard about it, while 38% said they were either somewhat or very unhappy. A remaining 33.5% said they felt neither relieved nor unhappy, and 2.5% said they did not know.

Meanwhile, a majority (57%) of Arab Israelis said they felt very relieved, and a further 13% said they felt somewhat relieved. Only 12% said they felt somewhat or very unhappy, while 16% said they felt neither relieved nor unhappy, and 2% said they did not know.

Among Jews, the reaction differed somewhat by political orientation, with those further to the right being more likely to be unhappy, and less likely to be relieved.

Opinions also changed among Jews based on region of residence, with almost half (48%) of those in the north saying they were unhappy with the ceasefire, while only 29% of those who reside in West Bank settlements said the same.

Additionally, older Jews were found to be less unhappy with the ceasefire than younger Jews.

About half of Jews think Israel’s position improved amid war

About half of Jewish Israelis said Israel’s strategic and security situation was slightly or much better than it was before the start of the latest campaign against Iran on February 28, while about a quarter thought it hadn’t changed much, and the remaining quarter thought it had worsened.

By contrast, among Arab respondents, about half said Israel’s strategic and security situation was slightly or much worse than it was before the operation, while about a quarter said it was unchanged, and only 16% said they believed it had gotten better. The remainder said they did not know.

Asked whether a potential agreement between the US and Iran would take Israel’s security into account to an appropriate degree, Jews were overwhelmingly pessimistic, with 72% saying the likelihood was either fairly low or very low that it would, and only 20.5% saying it was fairly high or very high, and 7.5% saying they did not know.

Among Arabs, a narrow majority (52%) were also pessimistic, but 38% were optimistic, and 10% said they didn’t know.

Asked to score the military and government’s management of the war with Iran on a scale of 1 to 5, an overwhelming majority of Jews (92%) gave the military scores of 4 or 5, including 83% of Jews on the left. Among Arabs, only 34.5% did likewise.

The government, by contrast, received high marks from a narrow majority (54%) of right-wing Jews, but a minority of Jews in every other political group, as well as a small minority (10%) of Arabs.

The poll, which was conducted by iPanel as the situation developed following the announcement of the truce last Tuesday, surveyed 502 respondents. Of them, 402 were interviewed in Hebrew and 100 in Arabic, constituting a representative sample of the population in Israel aged 18 and above. The poll’s margin of error was 4%.

Israel launched its campaign against Iran, alongside the US, on February 28 to degrade the Iranian regime’s military capabilities, distance threats posed by Iran — including its nuclear and ballistic missile programs — and “create the conditions” for the Iranian people to topple the regime, the military and other Israeli leaders have said.

On March 2, the Iran-backed Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon started attacking Israel with rockets and drones in support of its Tehran backer. Since then, Hezbollah has been firing hundreds of rockets per day, according to the Israeli military, with the vast majority directed at Israeli forces operating in southern Lebanon, and a few dozen projectiles crossing the border into Israel.

Israeli officials have said the IDF is establishing a demilitarized “security zone” in southern Lebanon up to the Litani River, until the threat of Hezbollah is removed. The buffer zone would be controlled with surveillance and firepower, as well as ground troops in areas deemed strategically necessary, the military has said.

Last Tuesday, the US and Iran announced a two-week ceasefire, which Israel said it would comply with. Iran and mediator Pakistan said the truce also applied to Lebanon, but the US and Israel said it did not.

Talks in Islamabad over the weekend, at which Israel was not represented, failed to reach a deal for the permanent end of hostilities, and the US announced a partial naval blockade on the Strait of Hormuz shortly thereafter, which went into effect on Monday.

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