About two-thirds of Israelis would vote in favor of a peace agreement
with the Palestinians if a deal which took Israel's security concerns
into account was brought to a referendum, two polls conducted on behalf
of the S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace found.
The
Dahaf Institute poll found that 67% of Israelis say they would support a
peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians if it takes into
account Israeli security concerns.
The deal in question would be a
two-state solution providing for a demilitarized Palestinian state
without an army and Israel as the state of the Jewish people.
Palestinian refugees would have a right of return to the Palestinian state only as part of the agreement.
Borders
would be based on the 1967 lines with agreed upon land swaps, with the
large settlement blocs remaining under Israeli sovereignty.
Jewish
neighborhoods of Jerusalem would be under Israeli sovereignty and Arab
neighborhoods under Palestinian sovereignty. The Old City within the
walls would be without sovereignty and jointly administered by the
United States, Israel and the Palestinians. The Holy Places would be
under the same religious supervision as current arrangements (for
example, the Kotel would be under Israeli supervision and
responsibility).
Overall support for the deal was identical to that found in Dahaf polls asking the same question in 2011 and 2010.
The
poll found that the percentage of Israelis supporting the deal was
higher if certain principles were added to the base agreement, such as a
US guarantee of Israel's security as a Jewish state (70%) and the
disarmament of Hamas as a condition to the implementation of the deal
(74%).
The study showed that a small majority of Likud Beytenu
(57%) and Bayit Yehudi (53%) voters would support such an agreement
while Labor and Tzipi Livni Party voters would overwhelmingly support
such a deal (92%).
The study interviewed a representative sample of 500 people.
A Smith Consulting poll found similar support for such an agreement (68%).
The
Smith poll found higher support for the agreement among adults over the
age of 50, among the secular and the Arab sector and among those with
higher levels of education.
The Smith Poll was conducted among a representative sample of 600 people.