TEL AVIV: A vast majority of Israelis and Palestinians want to see a two-state solution to their conflict, a poll released yesterday has found.
According to the survey, 74 percent of Palestinians and 78 percent of Israelis want to see an Israeli state and a Palestinian state living side-by-side, while the idea of one bi-national state is rejected by 59 percent of Palestinians and 66 percent of Israelis.
The poll, commissioned by the OneVoice movement, was conducted by Colin Irwin of the Institute of Irish Studies at the University of Liverpool together with Israeli pollster Mina Tzemach and Palestinian pollster Nader Said. Some 500 Israeli adults and 600 Palestinian adults were questioned.
A almost-total majority of Palestinians — 97 percent — said they saw the establishment of a Palestinian state as urgent, and a similar number — 95 percent — said they regarded the Palestinian refugee issue the same way.
Of the Israeli respondents, 77 percent said their most important issue was Israel’s security. On the issue of Jerusalem, 94 percent of Palestinians and 68 percent of Israelis said the future of the city was a key issue, but 50 percent of the former and 77 percent of the latter oppose dividing the city.
Some 86 percent of Palestinians want a total Israeli withdrawal to the de facto borders which existed before 1967 Middle East War, when Israel conquered the West Bank from Jordan, but 60 percent of Israelis oppose this.
One hundred percent of Palestinians also insist that Israel dismantle all settlements in the West Bank, and setters return to Israel, something opposed by 53 percent of Israelis.
Asked about priorities for rebuilding confidence in the peace process, 99 percent of Palestinians said Israel had to lift its siege of the Gaza Strip.
