Poll finds nearly half Israelis feel two-state solution is dead

Peace Index: Israelis foresaw Palestinian violence.

By GIL STERN STERN HOFFMAN
Updated: OCTOBER 15, 2015 02:42
PEOPLE HOLD up peace signs. But who wants peace more – Israel or the Palestinians? (photo credit: REUTERS)
PEOPLE HOLD up peace signs. But who wants peace more – Israel or the Palestinians?
(photo credit: REUTERS)
The idea of solving the Israeli- Palestinian conflict with two states for two peoples is dead, a majority of Arab citizens and close to a majority of Jews in Israel believe, according to the monthly Peace Index poll released on Wednesday by the Israel Democracy Institute and Tel Aviv University.
When asked whether they agreed with the statement that the two-state solution is dead, 57.1 percent of Arabs and 46.1% of Jews agreed, 35.1% of Arabs and 50% of Jews disagreed, and 7.7% of Arabs and 3.9% of Jews said they did not know or declined to answer.
Among the public as a whole, 61.5% said they did not believe Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s commitment to the two-state solution was genuine, 26.3% thought it was, and 12.3% declined to answer or said they did not know.
When asked what solution could best ensure Israel’s future, 64% of Arabs and 46.3% of Jews said dividing the land and establishing an independent Palestinian state. Twenty-two percent of Arabs and 36.3% of Jews said annexing the territories and establishing one state under Israeli rule on all of the land.
Fourteen percent of Arabs and 17.4% of Jews said they did not know or declined to answer.
Regarding large settlement blocs, 67.6% of Israeli Jews and 42.2% of Israeli Arabs believe they would remain under Israeli sovereignty following an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. Among Israeli Arabs, 37.2% and among Jews 22.8% do not believe the blocs will remain under Israeli sovereignty and 20.5% of Israeli Arabs and 8.6% of Jews did not know or declined to respond.
Some 87% of the Jewish public sees only a small chance that “sometime in the future Jews and Arabs will be able to live in a single state as citizens with equal rights who recognize each other’s rights.” The Arab public’s assessments were similar to those of the Jewish public’s – 68% regard the chances of egalitarian coexistence as small.
The poll, which was taken last week, found that the Jewish- Israeli public expected increased security challenges.
When asked how long the present situation with no peace agreement could continue without a third intifada erupting, the prevailing opinion (44.5%) was that the situation could only continue for a short time – up to a year.
Asked at the outset of the current escalation of violence how the public would grade the government for its handling of the security situation in Jerusalem (on a scale of 0 to 5, with 0 being failure and 5 being excellent), the majority of Jewish Israelis (76.3%) rated the government’s management at 3 or lower. The weighted average of the responses was 2.26.
The survey was conducted by telephone on October 6-8.
It covered 600 adult respondents, who constitute a representative national sample. The maximum measurement error for the entire sample is ±4.1% at a confidence level of 95%.