Thousands of Israelis considering leaving occupied territories

A survey carried out in the wake of the government passing the first law in its divisive judicial overhaul package found that over a quarter of Israelis are considering leaving the occupied territories.

The Channel 13 poll found that 28% of respondents were weighing a move abroad.

The survey reflected the impact of the coalition passing the law on Monday, despite sustained mass protests, vehement opposition from top judicial, security, economic and public figures, and thousands of Israeli military reservists vowing to quit service.

Over half of the survey’s respondents — 54% — said they feared the judicial overhaul was harming Israel’s security, and 56% were worried about civil war.

Only 33% of respondents said they believed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s claim that he wants to compromise on the rest of the judicial overhaul legislation, although 84% of voters for the premier’s Likud party said they believed him.

Fifty-five percent of respondents said leading opposition figures Yair Lapid and Benny Gantz should return to negotiations.

The Channel 13 survey also tallied support for political parties if a vote was held, although there are no national elections in the offing.

The survey predicted that Gantz’s National Unity party would win 30 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, the most of any party, if elections were held today, surpassing Likud, which ranked next with 25 seats.

Among coalition parties, the ultra-Orthodox Shas polled at 10 seats; the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism, 7; and the far-right Otzma Yehudit and Religious Zionism at 5 seats apiece.