Israelis and Palestinians are inching closer to agreeing on a two-state solution
based on the Clinton Parameters, according to the yearly Hebrew University Joint
Israeli-Palestinian Public Opinion Poll released Wednesday.
According to
the poll, 58 percent of Israelis and 50% of Palestinians supported the Clinton
Parameters in 2011, compared with 47% of Israelis and 39% of Palestinians in
2003, the first year of the poll.
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US rejects Arab League support for PA statehood bidThe Clinton Parameters, devised in the
administration of former US president Bill Clinton, call for compromises in six
fundamental issues: final borders and territorial exchange, refugees,
sovereignty over Jerusalem, a demilitarized Palestinian state, final security
arrangements and an end of armed conflict.
Most significantly, Jerusalem
will be divided, and east Jerusalem, along with most of the Old City, save for
the Jewish Quarter and the Western Wall, will become the Palestinian capital.
Also, Israel will withdraw from all of the West Bank except for major settlement
blocs consisting of about 3% of the West Bank, and there will be an equal
territorial exchange for land inside Israel.
Among Palestinians, 63%
support a territorial exchange based on these parameters, compared to 51% of
Israelis.
Palestinians and Israelis feel similarly uncomfortable with the
suggestion for Jerusalem’s future, with only 40% of Palestinians and 38% of
Israelis supporting those borders.
Support grew for an end to the armed
conflict with the implementation of the Clinton Parameters, with 63% of
Palestinians and 70% of Israelis expressing their support for an end to
violence, an increase of 2% for Israelis and 5% for Palestinians over last
year.
The poll also found Israelis and Palestinians are equally split on
whether or not Israel will attack Iran’s nuclear weapon program: 47% of Israelis
supported a strike against Iran, and 48% of Palestinians said they believed
Israel would strike Iran.
The poll was conducted by the Harry S. Truman
Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace, and the Department of
Communication and Journalism, at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and
included 1,270 Palestinian respondents and 600 Israeli
respondents.
Despite the fact there is actually support of at least 50%
on both sides for the Clinton parameters, both sides do not believe that others
in their society or on the other side support these suggestions. Only 34% of
Israelis estimate that a majority in their society supports this package, and
55% of Israelis think the majority of Palestinians will support it.