Polls: Israelis put Philadelphi Corridor above Hostage Deal

September 4, 2024

by: David Isaac ~ JNS

Wednesday, 4 September 2024 | Two new polls reveal that a majority of Israelis support maintaining control of the Philadelphi Corridor, the 8.7-mile-long [13.6 km.] strip of land extending the length of the Egypt–Gaza border, even at the expense of a hostage deal with Hamas.

Forty-nine percent of Jewish Israelis agreed with the statement, “Israel must not relinquish control of the Philadelphi Corridor even at the expense of a hostage deal,” according to the most recent poll, conducted on September 1 just hours after news broke of the murder of six Israeli hostages by Hamas.

Forty-three percent of those surveyed supported the statement, “Israel should give up control of the Philadelphi Corridor to enable a hostage deal.”

The poll was conducted by The Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI), a left-leaning, Israel-based think tank.

The second survey, conducted by polling firm Direct Polls on July 24, asked, “Do you agree with the statement that ‘Israel needs to control in a permanent way the Philadelphi Corridor in order to prevent weapons smuggling from Egypt to terror organizations in the Gaza Strip?’”

Seventy-nine percent agreed or agreed “very strongly” with the statement. Six percent didn’t agree or “completely didn’t agree.” Sixteen percent had no position.

Following the news of the six hostages’ murders, large-scale protests took place across Israel on Monday, blocking roads in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. The protests continued on Tuesday.

The protesters hold the Netanyahu government responsible for the failure to reach a deal with Hamas to free the hostages.

The Histadrut, Israel’s labor federation, held a general strike on Monday, joining with the protesters in holding the government responsible.

However, Israel’s National Labor Court ordered the strike cut short, ruling it was politically motivated and therefore illegal.

Many local government authorities had refused to join the strike, including those of Jerusalem, Ashdod, Netanya, Ramla, Dimona, Sderot, Holon, Petah Tikva, Safed, all communities in Judea and Samaria, and others.

The polls suggest that the demonstrators, though a large and vocal minority, do not represent most Israelis.

JPPI noted in the summary of its poll: “The survey proved that the position of the government is in line with the prevailing sentiment among its supporters, and a plurality of the Jewish public.”

Israel’s Security Cabinet voted on September 29 to support Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s position that Israel must maintain a military presence along the Philadelphi Corridor indefinitely. Only Defense Minister Yoav Gallant voted against.

Addressing the nation on Monday night, Netanyahu called the corridor “the oxygen and the arming of Hamas.”

“The axis of evil needs the Philadelphi Corridor; for this reason, we need the Philadelphi Corridor,” he added.

If Israel gives up control of the border area as Hamas has demanded during the ongoing ceasefire talks, the remaining captives could be smuggled out to Egypt and from there to Iran or Yemen, said Netanyahu.

He went on to say that he had been “absolutely shocked” that Gallant had voted against the Cabinet decision.

Posted on September 4, 2024

Source: (Excerpt from an article originally published by the Jewish News Syndicate on September 3, 2024. Time-related language has been modified to reflect our republication today. See original article at this link.)

Photo Credit: Oren Cohen/Flash90/jns.org