A new poll has shown that nearly three-quarters of Israelis – 73% – do not believe that establishing a Palestinian state alongside Israel will end the Palestinian/Arab war on Israel. This represents a rise from last year’s figure of 64% of Israelis who do not believe in setting up a Palestinian state. The poll, undertaken by Maagar Mochot and published on June 12, 2012, also found that:
- 64% of Israelis, residing within the 1949 armistice lines, support expansion of the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, as opposed to a mere 15% (down from 20% last year) who wish to halt settlement construction;
- Only 45% of Israelis support partial or full Israeli withdrawal from Judea and Samaria;
- Only 5% of Israelis support a further unilateral Israeli withdrawal; and
- 46% of Israelis oppose the uprooting of settlements in return for a peace treaty (Yoram Ettinger, ‘Poll: 64% of Israelis back continued settlement activity,’ Yisrael Hayom, June 12, 2012).
ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said, “This new poll shows, like others before it, that an overwhelming majority of Israelis believe that concessions to Mahmoud Abbas’ terror-supporting PA, even up to and including the setting up of a Palestinian state, would not bring the long awaited peace for which Israelis yearn.
“This poll also reveals clearly why Israelis no longer favor further concessions to the PA because it reveals the reason for this stance – their conviction that even setting up a Palestinian state will not bring peace or genuine Palestinian acceptance of Israel’s permanence and legitimacy as a Jewish state, something which they have denied right up until this moment.
“Put simply, a clear majority of Israelis are showing, by the sort of results in this poll and others in recent years, that they do not believe that the PA is a genuine peace partner whose signature on a peace settlement would actually mean anything. Quite clearly, most Israelis believe that whatever concessions might be made, Palestinian demands and terror would not cease, and Israel’s position, to say nothing of the security and tranquility of the country, would be drastically affected.”