The survey was conducted while Hassan Nasrallah was still alive and issuing threats. Although much has changed since then, the latest snapshot from the Italian\u00a0SWG research institute provides an insight into Italians’ views on the conflict between Israel, Lebanon\u2019s Hezbollah (“Party of God”), and Hamas terrorists. Overall, respondents tend to side against Israel.
\nBetween September 25-27, 1,200 Italians responded to SWG\u2019s questions, including: \u201cRegarding Israeli attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanese territory, which statement do you most agree with?\u201d Forty-one percent said, \u201cIsrael should not attack Lebanese territory,\u201d while 35% supported the attacks. There was a notable split by political alignment, with 50% of center-right voters supporting Israel\u2019s actions compared to just 26% of center-left voters.
\nAmong the 35% who supported Israel, opinions were divided: 26% thought \u201cIsrael should take greater care to avoid civilian casualties, even if it means being less effective,\u201d while 9% believed \u201cIsrael is justified in attacking decisively because Hezbollah is launching missiles and poses a threat.\u201d
\nThere is widespread negative sentiment regarding the operation that remotely triggered Hezbollah pagers to explode\u2014an action never officially claimed by Israel. Sixty-one percent of Italians considered it “unjustifiable, even in a wartime context, because it always risks civilian collateral damage.” Conversely, 20% of respondents view it as “justifiable” because it was \u201ctargeted and mostly affected militants\u201d.
\nIn the event of an escalation, with new direct attacks by Iran and Yemen against Israel, 50% of Italians favor \u201cneutrality\u201d between Israel and its enemies, while 23% believe the EU and Italy should side with the Jewish state (32% among center-right voters and 20% among center-left voters). Only 6% expressed support for Israel’s adversaries.
\nNearly a year after October 7 and the war in Gaza began, the survey shows increased support for the Palestinian cause. On October 13 of last year, when asked to choose between Israelis and Palestinians, 10% of Italians expressed greater sympathy for the latter, but that figure has now risen to 31%. Meanwhile, only 13% of Italians now support the \u201cIsraeli community,\u201d compared to 25% recorded initially.
\nThose who express equal sympathy for both Israelis and Palestinians now account for 22% of respondents, down from 30% in the first post-October 7 survey. Support for the “formal recognition of the Palestinian state” has increased from 53% to 62%.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"