Two in three Romanians believe Israel has right to attack Hamas: poll

Two-thirds of Romanians believe that Israel has the right to attack Hamas in Gaza, and more than half support a two-state solution, according to an IRSOP survey published on Wednesday.

The survey, which is based on interviews with 905 people between 25 and 30 October, found that condemnation of the Hamas attack on 7 October was very strong, with 86% of respondents saying they condemned it, while 7% said they did not condemn it and 7% said they were unsure.

As for Israel’s right to retaliate against Hamas in Gaza, 66% said they believe Israel has the right, with 20% holding a different opinion and 14% being uncertain.

On the provision of humanitarian aid, 78% of the respondents agree that Romania should immediately assist the civilian population of the Gaza Strip. However, 20% disagree, and 2% are unsure.

Additionally, 56% of Romanians believe that the Middle East conflict could lead to terrorist actions endangering the security of the Romanian population, while 38% think it would not have this effect, and 6% are uncertain.

On taking in Israeli refugees, 29% agree, 38% agree only partially, 31% disagree, and 2% say they are unsure. This comes at a time when other European countries, like Germany, are again experiencing higher rates of asylum applications.

More broadly, 56% of respondents believe there should be a Palestinian state alongside Israel in the Middle East, while 18% oppose this and 26% are unsure.

Romanians were also questioned about how they perceived the conflict in the Middle East compared to Russia’s war on Ukraine, which, for them, is directly next door.

Ukraine is indeed more worrying, according to 36% of the Romanians surveyed, while 35% are equally worried about the two wars and 17% view the Middle East as a greater cause for concern.

Where there is a great deal of consensus seems to be Romanians’ shared lack of confidence in the government to protect them in the event of an armed threat (79%), perhaps unsurprising given that Russian war materiel is falling ever closer to home.

(Cătălina Mihai | Euractiv.ro)