56% of Israelis believe Netanyahu should resign at end of conflict with Palestine: Poll

ISTANBUL

A majority of Israelis, 56%, believe Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should resign at the end of the conflict with Palestine, the Jerusalem Post reported Thursday.

Twenty-eight percent of coalition voters support that perspective, according to the poll released by the Dialog Center.

It revealed that four out of five Jewish Israelis attribute blame to the government and Netanyahu for the Hamas group's Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against Israel.

"An overwhelming majority of 86% of respondents, including 79% of coalition supporters, said the surprise attack from Gaza is a failure of the country's leadership, while a staggering 92% said the war is causing anxiety," it said.

"Furthermore, almost all of the respondents (94%) believe the government has responsibility for the lack of security preparedness that led to the assault on the South, with over 75% saying the government holds most of the responsibility," according to the report.

Additionally, 52% of respondents expect the resignation of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

Israeli forces launched a sustained and forceful military campaign against the Gaza Strip in response to a military offensive by the Palestinian group Hamas in Israeli territories.

The conflict began Saturday when Hamas initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood -- a multi-pronged surprise attack including a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel via land, sea and air.

Hamas said the operation was in retaliation for the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and Israeli settlers’ growing violence against Palestinians.

The Israeli military launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets within the Gaza Strip in response.

That response has extended into cutting water and electricity supplies to Gaza, further worsening the living conditions in an area that has reeled under a crippling siege since 2007.