But there is little consensus in the city on exactly what Israel should do next.
Israeli and Palestinian communities here have markedly different attitudes on how the Israeli government should conduct its war on Hamas, indicating how far removed each is from the other’s experiences.
That is borne out in the findings of a recent survey by the Israel Democracy Institute. In its poll, the research centre found large differences among Jewish and Arab respondents when they were asked whether Israel should move into another phase of the fighting that would reduce the scale of heavy bombing on densely-populated areas.
Three-quarters of Jews opposed such a change in strategy, whereas a majority of Arabs supported it.
Meanwhile, two-thirds of Jewish respondents said the best way to release the hostages held by Hamas would be to continue intensive fighting and try to have IDF forces free the captives.
In contrast, among Arab respondents, the same proportion thought it would be best to release all the Palestinian prisoners held by Israel in return for the release of all the hostages, even if that meant halting the conflict.
Each community’s response would risk greater suffering for the other: continuing the fighting in Gaza will inevitably lead to the killing of more Palestinian civilians – and will not necessarily guarantee the return of all captives alive.
And releasing all Palestinians held in Israeli prisons would frighten Israelis who fear that among them are hardened criminals who would pose threats to their communities.
The poll findings point to wider differences among Israelis and Palestinians that will continue to divide communities here, even when the war eventually ends. |
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