A new poll of Palestinians opinion in Judea, Samaria and Gaza has found that more than two-thirds of Palestinians – 67% – reject the creation of a Palestinian state within the pre-1967 armistice lines with some land exchange if it means an end of all claims against Israel, whereas only 28% of Palestinians would accept such a solution. The An-Najah National University Public Opinion Poll, conducted April 8-10, 2010, also found that more than three-quarters of Palestinians – 77% – seek to deprive Israel of its capital city, rejecting the idea of Jerusalem serving as the capital of Israel and a future Palestinian state, whereas only 21% accept this proposal.
The An-Najah poll also found that 71% of Palestinians support a unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state, while only 25% reject this approach; that Palestinians support Mahmoud Abbas’ Palestinian Authority (PA)’s refusal to negotiate with Israel until it stops Jewish construction in Judea, Samaria and eastern Jerusalem by 79% to 19% and reject further negotiations if Jewish construction continues by an overwhelming 83% to 14% (An-Najah National University Public Opinion Poll, 8-10 April 2010).
These results are consistent with several earlier polls that also indicated rejection of a Palestinian state living peacefully alongside Israel:
· February 2007: 75% of Palestinian Arabs do not think that Israel has a right to exist; 70% of Palestinian Arabs support a one-state solution in which Jews would be a minority, not a two-state solution with a Palestinian Arab state living peacefully alongside Israel (Near East Consulting (NEC) poll, February 12-15, 2007, ‘NEC 12-15 February Poll: 75% of Palestinians do not think that Israel has the right to exist,’ Independent Media Review Analysis, February 16, 2007).
· February 2006: 83.3% of the Palestinian Arabs oppose dropping the legally and morally baseless so-called ‘right of return’ of refugees and their millions of descendants to Israel and reject substitute solutions to the refugee issue (Palestinian Center for Public Opinion (PCPO) poll, February 16-20, 2006).
ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said, “It is often said that Palestinians no longer embrace a program for eliminating Israel, but merely wish to live in their own independent state within the territories Israel captured in 1967. As a result, many conclude that Israel has an obligation to negotiate a peaceful outcome with Palestinians. This latest poll exposes the groundlessness of these assumptions: more than two-thirds of Palestinians plainly reject a Palestinian state living in peace alongside Israel.
“While some polls can be found to support the contention that a majority of Palestinians favor the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, on closer inspection, it always emerges that only a minority of Palestinians favor a Palestinian state, once established, actually continuing to live in peace alongside Israel.
“Put simply, Palestinians unfortunately and tragically still reject the legitimacy and permanence of the Jewish state of Israel and continue to embrace Israel’s elimination.”