Poll reveals majority of Israelis, Palestinians in favor of two-state solution

A joint Palestinian-Israeli poll revealed on Thursday, a majority of Israelis and just under half of Palestinians were in favor of a two-state solution, but less than half agreed with the framework outlined to implement the solution.


The poll funded by the European Union (EU) and published by the Tami Steinmetz Center for Peace Research (TSC), Tel Aviv University and the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, determined that the majority of Palestinians and Israelis would be in favor of a peace agreement to end the longstanding conflict if “offered additional symbolic or concrete incentives.”

The joint poll, the Palestinian-Israeli Pulse, surveyed 1,270 Palestinians and 1,207 Israelis in December 2016 to gauge public opinion on a comprehensive peace agreement as well as to measure levels of general mistrust and fear between the two peoples.

The series of polls have a 3 percent margin of error.

55 percent of Israelis and 44 percent of Palestinians supported a two-state solution while 36 percent of Palestinians, 19 percent of Israeli Jews, and 56 percent of Israeli Arabs supported a one-state solution.

However the poll also revealed that Israelis underestimated the amount of support for a two-state solution by other Israelis, 63 percent believing that the majority were opposed to the two-state solution.

Despite a large number in favor, over 80 percent of Israeli Jews and 72 percent of Palestinians do not believe a Palestinian state will be established in the next five years.

Those most in favor of a one-state solution, which would see Palestinians and Jews as “citizens of the same state and enjoy equal rights,” were Israeli Arabs at 56 percent.
 [i24news.tv]
16/2/17