Netanyahu slams recent poll results showing majority support for ceasefire in Gaza
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed on Sunday the results of a recent opinion poll showing a majority of Israelis support a prisoner exchange deal with Hamas.
Israel’s Channel 12 which ran the poll revealed on Friday that 74 per cent of Israelis, including 60 per cent of Netanyahu coalition voters, support concluding ceasefire- prisoner swap deal with Hamas.
Responding to the poll results, Netanyahu claimed the poll did not ask respondents whether they want Hamas to remain in Gaza or not”, Channel 13 reported.
“These polls mislead public opinion in Israel,” he claimed, adding that Israeli media that accuses him of thwarting efforts to reach a prisoner exchange deal were merely “repeating Hamas propaganda”.
In turn, the Hebrew newspaper Haaretz reported that Netanyahu slammed opinion polls and some TV channels, saying studios (channels) always repeat Hamas propaganda, and they are always wrong.”
“We accepted (US envoy Steve) Witkoff’s deal, and then Hamas rejected the version (proposed agreement) presented to us by the mediators because it wants to remain in Gaza” he added.
For a week, Qatar has been hosting a new round of indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel, with the aim of reaching a prisoner exchange agreement and a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas has repeatedly affirmed its willingness to release Israeli prisoners “in one batch” in exchange for an end to the genocidal war, an Israeli military withdrawal from Gaza, and the release of Palestinian prisoners.
However, Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court, insists on partial deals that allow prolonging the war to ensure his continued rule by appeasing the most extreme faction in his right-wing government, according to the Israeli opposition.
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