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Poll: Israeli attack aimed to put Turkish gov’t on edge
According to the results of the survey conducted by the Ankara-based MetroPOLL Strategic and Social Research Center, 45.3 percent of respondents said Israel aimed to “put Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on the spot domestically and internationally.” On the other hand, 33.2 percent of respondents said they thought Israel’s aim was to prevent the broaching of the Gaza blockade, which has left more than 1.4 million Palestinian men, women and children trapped in the Gaza Strip, an area of land just 40 kilometers long and 9.5 kilometers wide.
“There is a public perception that Israel’s operation aimed at wearing out Prime Minister Erdoğan’s government. As we heard in the news, the Israeli soldiers shouted ‘one minute’ as they attacked,” said Özer Sencar, who heads MetroPOLL. The phrase “one minute” is associated with Erdoğan’s confrontation last year with Israeli President Shimon Peres in Davos over the Israeli attack on Palestinians in Gaza.
“The fact that Israel conducted the operation in international waters can be interpreted as a taunt. This daring act was allegedly carried out with their soldiers shouting ‘one minute’,” Sencar said.
Sencar also said that the fact that 21.5 percent of respondents said that they couldn’t think of a reason behind the Israeli attack indicates that the public needs more time to evaluate the incident.
Another question posed to participants in the survey was, “Do you find Turkey’s reaction to Israel sufficient?”
In response, 33.2 percent of the respondents said “Yes, I find it to be enough,” while 60.6 percent said “No, I don’t find it sufficient”; nearly 6 percent did not respond or had no opinion.
“The public is in such a state that they almost want war against Israel. I think this is widespread in almost all levels of society,” Sencar said and added that the continuation of relations with Israel after the Davos incident made the Turkish public uncomfortable. “The government has taken the actions that it is supposed to take so far, but the public wants more.”
The poll was conducted on May 3 by telephone amongst a random national sampling of 996 adults residing in cities, towns and villages. The margin of error for the overall poll was 3 percentage points, with a confidence level of 95 percent.
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