Jewish Israelis have low expectations for the diplomatic talks between Israelis
and Palestinians that were launched in Washington last week by US Secretary of
State John Kerry, according to the results of the Israel Democracy Institute and
Tel Aviv University monthly Peace Index poll released Tuesday.
The poll
found that 79 percent of Israeli Jews think the new round of negotiations has a
low chance of success in yielding a peace agreement, while 18% believes it has a
high chance of succeeding. The numbers were very different among Arab Israelis,
among whom 41% think there is a low chance of success and 47% believe there is a
high chance.
There were also large differences between Jewish and Arab
Israelis regarding their perception of the sincerity of the sides in the
diplomatic talks.
Among Israeli Jews, 63% believe the Israeli government
is truly interested in returning to the negotiating table and just 29% believe
the Palestinian Authority wants the negotiations.
Among Israeli Arabs,
58% say the Israelis are sincere about the talks and 85% believe the
Palestinians are truly interested in the negotiations.
Sixty percent of
Israeli Jews trust Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to conduct negotiations in
a way that safeguards Israel’s security, while 37% do not.
Twenty-nine
percent of Israeli Arabs trust him to do so, and 64% do not.
Regarding
Netanyahu’s ability to finalize a deal, 48% of Jewish respondents trust him to
conduct the talks in a way such that, to the extent that it depends on Israel, a
peace agreement will be signed, while 47% do not.
Among Arab respondents,
32% trust Netanyahu in this regard, while 59% do not.
Under the
conditions of a permanent peace agreement with security arrangements, a
demilitarized Palestinian state, international guarantees, and a Palestinian
declaration of the end of conflict, 63% of Israeli Jews oppose withdrawal to the
pre-1967 borders with land swaps, 58% oppose dismantling settlements while
leaving the Ariel, Maale Adumim, and Gush Etzion blocs intact, and 50% oppose
transferring Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem to the PA along with a special
arrangement for the holy places.
Seventy-seven percent of Israeli Jews
oppose recognition of a Palestinian “right of return” involving the return of a
small number of refugees and financial compensation for the rest.
If a
referendum were held today on a peace agreement including withdrawal from Judea
and Samaria and an evacuation of settlements, 58% of Jewish respondents and 33%
of Arab respondents believe the agreement would be rejected by the people. Only
29% of Jewish respondents and 58% of Arab respondents believe it would win a
majority.
When asked about the need for a Referendum, 62% of Jewish
Israelis and 72% of Arab Israelis said it would be necessary if a peace
agreement is reached that includes a withdrawal from Judea and Samaria and an
evacuation of settlements.
However, 34% of Jewish Israelis and 20% of
Arab Israelis believe there is no need, and such a decision should be left to
the the government and the Knesset.
Eighty-eight percent of Israeli Arabs
and 46% of Israeli Jews think that all citizens should vote in such a
referendum, while 4% of Israeli Arabs and 49% of Israeli Jews think the vote
should be limited to Jewish citizens only.
Support for Bayit Yehudi
leaving the coalition with Netanyahu due to the launch of the talks is higher
among the party’s voters than among the general Jewish public. While 33% of
Jewish Israelis said the party should exit the coalition and 51% say it should
stay, among Bayit Yehudi voters, 46% are for quitting and 49% are
against.
Forty-eight percent of the Jewish public and 71% of the Arab
public believe the Labor party should immediately join the Netanyahu government
in order to support the peace process from within, while 36% of the Jewish
public and 9% of the Arab public think it should not.
The survey was
conducted from July 28 to July 30 among 602 respondents who constitute a
representative sample of the adult population of Israel. The margin of error for
a sample of this size is 4.5%.