57% of Americans think Israel needs to retain territory
A new poll conducted by The Israel Project has found that Americans overwhelmingly reject (66 percent) the idea that Israeli support for establishing a Palestinian state and stopping the expansion of Jewish settlements will bring lasting peace to the region, whereas only 22 percent of Americans believe that it would. The same poll also showed that 57 percent of Americans believe that Israel should retain some territory in Judea and Samaria for its security, as against 23 percent of Americans who believe that Israel should withdrawal from all territories captured in the 1967 Six Day War.
Other findings in the poll included: 49 percent of American voters call themselves supporters of Israel, as against 7 percent of Americans who call themselves supporters of the Palestinians; 44 percent of Americans believe that the United States should support Israel, as against 5 percent who believe it should support the Palestinians; and 85 percent of Americans believe that Iran is a serious threat to Israel, while only 7 percent believe it is not (‘Poll: American voters’ support of Israel drops,’ Jewish Telegraphic Agency, June 2009).
These findings are consistent with other recent polls, including a McLaughlin poll in May, which showed, among other things, that 60 percent of American believe that the Palestinians would continue their campaign of terror to destroy Israel, even if they were given their own state in the Judea, Samaria and Gaza (McLaughlin & Associates National Survey Results, ‘American voters still see terrorism as a very serious threat to the United States,’ May 8-9, 2009).
ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said, “This poll demonstrates that Americans understand that the establishment of a Palestinian state will mean only the creation of a new terror state in the Middle East that promotes hatred and violence against Jews and the West in all aspects of their culture, from their schools, to their media to their speeches.
“The American public understands that a Palestinian state will not be a peaceful, constructive polity which would take its place among law-abiding nations. Indeed, creating a Palestinian state under present conditions would mean that Israel would share its longest border with a terrorist regime and one from which every major population center in Israel would be under assault with missiles, just as southern Israel is today from Gaza with the real likelihood that Iranian and Hamas forces would end up there. Understanding this, most Americans support Israel retaining at least some territory in Judea and Samaria for security purposes.
“Iran, North Korea, and Syria are all sovereign states, yet are not peace-loving states. Statehood does not guarantee a peaceful, law-abiding country or society but, on the contrary, will strengthen the promotion of violence and hatred espoused by the underlying culture. Better than most governments, including our own, the American public understands that Palestinian statehood is not a silver bullet that will solve the region’s problems, but only make things worse by destabilizing the region even further.”