Poll: Israelis say Jewish, Palestinian terror should get same treatment
In the poll, 84% say two-state solution won’t happen in next decade; over 80% call Duma attack terrorism.
By LAHAV HARKOVUpdated: JANUARY 5, 2016 00:44A Palestinian stone-thrower looks on as he stands in front of a fire during clashes with IDF troops in the West Bank village of Duma(photo credit: REUTERS)
More than half (56 percent) of Israeli Jews say the same interrogation methods should be used on suspected Jewish and Palestinian terrorists, according to the Israel Democracy Institute and Tel Aviv University’s monthly Peace Index Poll, released Monday.Over a third (36%) of those polled say Jewish suspects should be interrogated less harshly. Among United Torah Judaism and Shas voters, the percent of those who agree was much higher: 54% and 74% respectively.Nearly two-thirds (63%) of Jewish Israelis say Jewish terrorists should not be given more lenient sentences for their acts, with 30% taking the opposite stance.The poll was taken on December 29-30, 2015, before the state attorney’s indictment of two Jewish Israelis suspected of committing a July arson attack in the West Bank village of Duma and murdering three members of the Dawabsha family; an 18-month old toddler and his parents.A plurality of Israelis (43.5%) say the Shin Bet’s methods of interrogating Palestinians are appropriate, compared to 21% who say they are too mild and only 7% who consider them too harsh. A relatively high rate (28%) did not know.When it comes to Jewish suspects, 36% of Israelis say the method is appropriate and 23.5% said it is too harsh, more than three times as many who said so about Palestinians.The vast majority of the Jewish public – 88% – say the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) is making every possible effort to prevent Palestinian terrorist attacks against Jews, and most – 78% – say the same of efforts to stop Jewish attacks against Palestinians.The vast majority of both the Jewish (80.9%) and Arab (81%) populations agree with some level of certainty that if the attack on Duma were intentionally perpetrated by Jews, it should be called an act of terrorism.In addition, 73.4% of Jewish Israelis and 59.9 of Arabs agree to some degree that the Jews who attack Palestinians are a marginal, minority part of the national- religious population.The Peace Index also asked Jewish Israelis if they fear being harmed in the current wave of terrorism. The number that said yes has steadily risen over the months, reaching 70% in December, after it was 67% in November and 57% in October.Among Israeli Arabs, 65.5% fear being harmed in a terrorist attack.As for support for a two-state solution, 84% of Jewish Israelis and 75.5% of Israeli Arabs see little chance that one will be implemented in the next decade, though 52% of Jews and 80% of Arabs support such a solution.In previous years, the rates of support among Israeli Jews for the two-state solution came to about two-thirds and even higher.Nearly three-fourths (72%) of the Jewish population say the Jews’ historical, religious and cultural bond to the land is stronger than that of the Palestinians. All United Torah Judaism voters polled and 96% of those who voted Bayit Yehudi concur with the statement. Meretz was the only Zionist party in which a majority (81%) of voters believe Jews and Palestinians have a similar religious, cultural, and historical bond to the land.Among Israeli Arabs, 43% said Jews and Palestinians have a similar bond to the land.The Peace Index Poll was taken among a 600-person representative sample of the Israeli adult population and has a 4.1% margin of error.