New York — A major new Israeli poll has shown that more than four-fifths of Israelis living in Judea and Samaria beyond the current security fence — 84% — are unwilling to be evacuated from their homes to live on the Israeli side of the security fence, with these numbers holding strong even if offered one and half times (81%) or double (76%) the value compensation for their homes. The poll, carried out by Teleseker for the newspaper, Maariv (December 7, 2007), also found that 78% of such Israelis are unwilling in principle to be uprooted from their homes even in return for fair compensation. ( Independent Media Review Analysis, December 7, 2007).
ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said, “This poll presents very clear evidence that Israelis living in Judea and Samaria are both devoted to living in the communities that they have built up and that they are overwhelmingly opposed to being uprooted, even if offered twice the fair market value of the homes.
“These results are also in keeping with other recent surveys, such as an October poll that showed 72% of Israelis opposing U.S. funding for the Palestinian Authority (PA) and a May poll that showed 72% of Israelis opposing uprooting of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria and 71% of the view that the Palestinian Arabs remain wedded to the goal of destroying Israel, not building a peaceful Palestinian state alongside Israel. Taken together, it is clear that the Israeli public sees through and repudiates the Palestinian diplomatic offensive implying a moderation that does not exist on the ground in the PA and supports Israelis living in Judea and Samaria retaining their homes and communities, as do the vast majority of such Israelis themselves.”