Misgav Institute Poll: Majority of public doesn’t believe Trump plan will dismantle Hamas

A new survey conducted for the Jerusalem-based Misgav Institute for National Security & Zionist Strategy leaves no doubt as to the extent Israelis doubt that Hamas will disarm. Sevent-four percent (74%) of Israelis do not believe that the Trump Plan will lead to the removal of all weapons from Gaza and the complete dismantling of Hamas. According to the survey, there are no differences on this question among Israelis belonging to rival political camps.
This, according to data collected by Lazar Research headed by Dr. Menachem Lazar at the request of the Misgav Institute.
A breakdown by demographic characteristics found that skepticism toward the Trump Plan was particularly high among respondents residing in the Tel Aviv and southern districts of Israel (81% in both groups).
Among the alternatives presented to respondents, only 7% of Israel’s Jewish population supports the Trump Plan for the Gaza Strip. Thirty percent (30%) of respondents said they favored intensifying Israel’s military campaign until military objectives are achieved. Twenty-four percent (24%) supported establishing an Israeli military government in the Gaza Strip. Only 10% favored transferring governance of the Gaza Strip to the Palestinian Authority. Another 2% favored maintaining the status quo. (11% proposed other solutions, while 16% were undecided.)
The survey also found that Israel’s Jewish population is divided over the issue of Israeli settlement in Gaza. 47% oppose the idea, while 42% support renewed Israeli settlement in Gaza.
In response to the findings, Meir Ben Shabbat, Chairman of the Misgav Institute (and former head of Israel’s National Security Council), said:
“The Israeli public is not prepared to accept arrangements that leave the enemy standing. Skepticism regarding the prospects of the US-led Board of Peace ‘15-Point Plan’ to bring about the removal of all weapons from Gaza and the complete dismantling of Hamas amounts to a near-total consensus. An overwhelming majority of the Israeli public, on both the left and the right, holds virtually the same view on this matter.”
“Israel must insist on three clear and unequivocal red lines: Israel must not stop interdicting and eliminating the enemy; it must not withdraw from the territory in Gaza currently under its control; and it must not allow reconstruction in Gaza as long as weapons remain there. Actions speak louder than words, and the Israeli public expects its government to act against the enemy.”
The survey was conducted in cooperation with the Panel4All online respondent panel on August 20, 2026. A total of 501 respondents participated, constituting a representative sample of Israel’s adult Jewish population.