IRSOP POLL: Two thirds of Romanians believe that Israel has the right to attack Hamas in Gaza / More than three quarters have little or very little confidence in the Romanian government’s ability to protect the population in case of armed danger

Two-thirds of Romanians believe Israel has the right to attack Hamas in Gaza, and more than half agree that there should be both an Israeli and a Palestinian state. As for the war in Ukraine, 4 out of 10 Romanians think Romania has done just enough to help the neighboring country, while 46% think it has done too much. At the same time, more than three-quarters of Romanians have little or very little confidence in the Romanian government’s ability to protect its population in the event of armed danger, according to an IRSOP opinion poll entitled „Romanians’ views on conflicts that will change the course of the world”, conducted on a sample of nearly 1,000 respondents.

86% of Romanians condemn the Hamas attack on October 7, when they infiltrated Israel and killed 1,400 civilians. Only 7% do not condemn the attack, while 7% are unsure.

66% believe that Israel has the right to strike Hamas in Gaza, 20% believe otherwise, and 14% are unsure.

78% agree that Romania should immediately provide humanitarian aid to the civilian population in the Gaza Strip. 20% disagree, and 2% are unsure.

56% of Romanians believe that the war in the Middle East could lead to terrorist actions that threaten the security of Romania’s population, while 38% believe it would not have this effect, and 6% are unsure.

29% strongly agree and 38% somewhat agree that Romania should take in Israeli refugees. 31% disagree with this notion, and 2% are unsure.

56% support the existence of a Palestinian state alongside Israel in the Middle East, 18% oppose it, and 26% are unsure.

49% of Romanians believe that America is currently strong enough to stabilize the world, while 43% believe it isn’t, and 8% are unsure.

36% of Romanians are more concerned about the conflict in Ukraine than the one in the Near East, while 35% are equally concerned about both. 17% are more concerned about the Near Eastern conflict, 11% are not concerned about either, and 1% are unsure.

46% believe that Romania has done too much for Ukraine, 40% believe it has done just the right amount, 8% believe too little has been done, and 6% are unsure.

47% of Romanians believe that military risks for Romania have remained the same even in the context of the war in Ukraine, while 42% think the risks are now greater, 5% believe they’re lesser, and 6% are unsure.

79% of Romanians have little (35%) or very little (44%) confidence in the Romanian Government’s ability to protect its population in case of an armed threat. 17% have a lot of confidence, 2% have absolute confidence, and 2% are unsure.

For this poll, IRSOP conducted phone interviews with 905 individuals between October 25-30, 2023. The sample is representative of the population over 18 residing in Romania. The sampling tolerance is ±3.3%.

This survey is a public information service fully funded by IRSOP. IRSOP is an independent research and consulting institute since 1990.