Poll: Residents of Israel, Gaza and West Bank want 2 states

More than 70% of Israelis and Palestinians are ready for solution of two states for two people, survey conducted among 1,100 people reveals. However, most respondents are against dividing Jerusalem

Ynet|Published: 04.22.09 , 08:40

A vast majority of Israelis and Palestinians are ready for a two states for two people solution, but are against dividing Jerusalem, a recent poll shows.

The survey was ordered by the OneVoice movement and conducted by Colin Irwin of the Institute of Irish Studies at the University of Liverpool together with Dr. Mina Tzemach and Dr. Nader Said of the AWRAD research center in Ramallah.

According to the poll published Wednesday morning, 74% of the Palestinians and 78% of the Israelis are willing to accept the basic solution of two states for two people. On the other hand, 66% of the Israelis and 59% of the Palestinians object to one bi-national state.

The results are based on two samples: A representative sample of 500 respondents from the adult Israeli population and 600 interviewees constituting a representative sample of the adult population in the West Bank and Gaza. The poll was conducted in February, after the Israeli offensive in Gaza.

On the Palestinian side, 97% stated that the establishment of an independent sovereign Palestinian state was an urgent issue for them. Ninety-five percent said the same thing about refugee rights, 94% said the same about an agreement on Jerusalem's future, 91% on the management of holy sites, 90% on the management of the Palestinian state, 89% on the settlements and 88% said the same on the rights to natural resources.

As far as the Israelis are concerned, a very important issue is the State's security, according to 77% of the respondents. Sixty-eight percent said the same about an agreement on Jerusalem's future and 62% said this about the rights to natural resources.

Forty-five percent of the Israelis said that a two-state solution was essential or desirable, while 21% said this was unacceptable. Forty-five percent said that the economic development in Gaza and the West Bank was "essential or desirable", and 24% said this was unacceptable. The Greater Israel idea was unacceptable to 47% of the Israeli respondents.

Fifty-three percent of the Palestinians are interested in "an Israeli recognition of the Palestinian refugees' suffering while most refugees return to the West Bank and Gaza and a few of them to the State of Israel." Sixty percent of the Israelis are against such a possibility.

35% of Israelis: IDF must remain in territories

And what about the security-related issues? Thirty-five percent of the Israelis believe that it is essential or desirable for the Israel Defense Forces to remain in the territories, while 43% find this unacceptable.

One hundred percent of the Palestinian respondents said it was essential or desires for all settlers to leave the West Bank and for all settlements to be dismantled. Twenty-six percent of the Israelis share this opinion, but 53% find it unacceptable.

Eighty-six percent of the Palestinians are interested in an Israeli withdrawal to the 1967 borders. Sixty percent of the Israelis say that this possibility is unacceptable, and 73% of the Palestinians believe that a border based on the separation fence is unacceptable. Thirty-five percent of the Israelis share this opinion.

Ninety-five percent of the Palestinians said that it was "essential or desirable" for all of Jerusalem to be part of a future Palestinian state. Fifty-six percent of the Israelis believe it is essential or desirable for all of Jerusalem to remain part of Israel.

What about the city's division? Fifty-five percent of the Israelis and 61% of the Palestinians refuse to accept such a possibility.

As for rebuilding trust in the peace process, 99% of the Palestinians believe Israel must lift the siege over the Gaza Strip and remove roadblocks. The Palestinians also demand the release of Palestinian political prisoners jailed in Israel and an end to settlement construction.