Survey: Solidarity with Israel Among Arab Citizens Has Increased

According to the results of a survey published on Friday, November 10, solidarity with Israel among the 21% Arab citizens of Israel, who are mostly Palestinian, has significantly increased. Reuters reports that 70% of Arab citizens of Israel who participated in the 'Israeli Democracy Institute' survey responded 'yes' to the question of whether they consider themselves part of the State of Israel, a significant increase from 48% in June. This non-partisan think tank states that this level is unprecedented in surveys conducted over the past twenty years. However, only 27% of Arab respondents expressed optimism about Israel's future, while this figure is 72% for Jews. The 'Israeli Survey Institute' also noted that among the majority of Jewish Israelis, 94% feel they are part of the State of Israel, describing it as a peak level that matches the sentiment in 2003 when Israel was at the height of military operations against Palestinian militants in the West Bank. Following the October 7 terrorist attack by Hamas, which killed at least 1,400 civilians, soldiers, and Arab citizens, Israel launched air, sea, and ground attacks aimed at destroying this group supported by the Islamic Republic. The United States, Canada, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan, Israel, and several other countries have designated Hamas as a terrorist organization. The Arab minority in Israel, which is predominantly Muslim, consists of Palestinian Arabs who remained in the territory under British rule at the time of Israel's establishment in 1948. Hundreds of thousands of their relatives fled or were expelled. The survey showed that 80.5% of Jewish respondents answered negatively to the question of whether they would leave Israel if offered citizenship in Western countries. 59% of Arab respondents gave the same answer. The Israeli Minister of Internal Security had warned that internal unrest among Arabs might flare up in this war, similar to the previous Gaza war in 2021. However, such unrest was not observed. Netanyahu stated that Israel is not seeking to reoccupy Gaza; Mahmoud Abbas implicitly welcomed this. The Israeli army claims to have killed several Hamas commanders in Jabalia, Gaza. Audience reactions to the special program 'America and Israel: 75 Years of Support.' Blinken: The U.S. appreciates Israel's efforts to minimize harm to Palestinian civilians. Response to a drone attack on a school in Eilat; Israel bombed targets in Syria. The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia called for an end to the war in Gaza. Hezbollah of Lebanon reported the death of 7 of its forces.