New survey shows overwhelming majority of Jewish Israelis support Trump’s plan to relocate Gazans

U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to relocate the population of Gaza to other countries is supported by an overwhelming majority of Israeli Jews, according to a Jewish People Policy Institute Israel Index survey that was publicized on Monday.

The survey’s findings revealed that 8 out of 10 Jewish Israelis support Trump’s idea that “Arabs from Gaza should relocate to another country.” By contrast, most Israeli Arabs are against Trump’s proposal.

The authors of the report found that 43% of all Israelis – including non-Jewish Israelis – believe that Trump’s plan is “practical” and should be pursued. Thirty percent of Jewish Israelis said they thought the plan was “not practical, but desirable.” In other words, they liked the idea but did not think it was a realistic suggestion to move Palestinian civilians out of the Gaza Strip.

In addition, 13% of all Israelis surveyed found Trump’s proposal to be “immoral,” however, that group included 54% of the Arab Israelis surveyed and just 3% of Jewish Israelis.

The study also revealed that Trump’s plan for relocating Gazans was received differently by Jewish Israelis depending on their political stance. According to the survey, 81% of right-wing Jewish Israelis believe Trump’s plan is both desirable and practical, compared to just 31% of those who vote centrist, and 27% of left-wing Jewish respondents.

The majority of the Israelis who vote for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party said they think the plan to relocate Gazans is both “desirable and practical,” whereas half of those who voted for the National Unity party, led by Benny Gantz, said it is desirable but not practical. Furthermore, 62% of those who identified with the Labor party considered the plan to be either a “distraction” or “immoral.”

The idea of relocating Gazans was once considered illegitimate among many Israelis and the fact that it now has such widespread support, with only 3% rejecting the idea, shows the enduring impact of the atrocities of Oct. 7, 2023.

Trump has suggested that Egypt and Jordan accept the Gazans. Trump told reporters on Air Force One last week that he would like “to get them [Gazans] living in an area where they can live without disruption and revolution and violence so much.”

“When you look at the Gaza Strip, it’s been hell for so many years,” Trump said. “There have been various civilizations on that strip. It didn’t start here. It started thousands of years before, and there’s always been violence associated with it. You could get people living in areas that are a lot safer and maybe a lot better and maybe a lot more comfortable.”

Egypt and Jordan have rejected Trump’s proposal with the Egyptian Foreign Ministry stating it “rejected any infringement on those inalienable rights, whether by settlement or annexation of land, or by the depopulation of that land of its people through displacement, encouraged transfer or the uprooting of Palestinians from their land, whether temporarily or long-term.” 

The survey was published ahead of Netanyahu’s meeting in Washington, D.C., with Trump.