Poll: Gush Etzion strengthens J'lem

Also, overwhelming majority does not think peace with Palestinians is possible.

By ETGAR LEFKOVITS
maaleh adumimrainbow 298 (photo credit: AP [file])
maaleh adumimrainbow 298
(photo credit: AP [file])
Three out of every five Jewish Israelis believes that Jewish settlement in Ma'aleh Adumim and the Gush Etzion bloc strengthens Jerusalem, even though more than half are willing to make some concession in Jerusalem, a public opinion poll released this weekend found. These two settlement areas are expected to remain part of Israel under any final peace accord with the Palestinians. The results come two years after Israel froze a building plan between Jerusalem and Ma'aleh Adumim following international condemnation of the move.
  • Poll: 78% of Israelis don't want to live in J'lem The building plan, known as E1, would have seen the construction of 3,500 housing units on the outskirts of Ma'aleh Adumim, as part of a decade-old government proposal to link the suburban Jerusalem settlement to the capital. Sixty-two percent of Jewish Israelis believe that settlement in Ma'aleh Adumim and Gush Etzion strengthens Jerusalem, while 57% are willing to make some concession in the city as part of a peace deal with the Palestinians, according to the poll for The Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies. The poll also found that 84% of Jewish Israelis do not believe that it is possible to reach a peace agreement with the Palestinians, compared to only 16% who feel a peace accord is possible. The poll, which was carried out ahead of Jerusalem Day, did not cite a margin of error. Meanwhile, a separate poll conducted by the Zionist Council in Israel, found that 31% of Jewish Israelis cited Jerusalem's dwindling Jewish majority as the city's main problem, while 26% said that its lack of jobs was the critical issue. Jerusalem residents cited lack of work opportunities as the city's main problem. Jerusalem's current population stands at 720,000, 66% Jewish, 34% Arab. A recent study carried out by Hebrew University demographer Prof. Sergio Della Pergola predicted that if the situation - and Jerusalem's borders - remained unchanged, only 60% of Jerusalem's residents would be Jews by 2020, with the remaining 40% Arab, while another survey predicted that the number of Jews and Arabs living in the city would reach parity within a quarter century.