A survey of Palestinians and Israelis released on Monday found that a faint majority on both sides still prefer a resolution to the occupation of Palestine through the establishment a Palestinian state alongside Israel. The results come in spite of half a century of occupation, conflict and a deadlock in negotiations.
Although the prospects of a peaceful and just resolution to the question of Palestine appears bleak, the poll results provided glimmers of hope.
The last round of negotiations broke down two years ago, and a resumption of talks, much less progress between the sides, at this point seems unlikely.
Israeli political scientist Tamar Hermann, who conducted the survey with Palestinian polling official Khalil Shikaki, commented that the findings were "not amazingly encouraging," but "not discouraging."
The findings indicated that 51 percent of Palestinians and 59 percent of Israelis continue to support a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Fifty-three percent of Jewish Israelis are in favor of the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. The number is much higher for Israeli Arabs, at 87 percent. However, only one third of Palestinians and one fifth of Israelis are in favor of a single state where they are both citizens with equal rights as a solution to the occupation.
A protracted occupation, systematic discrimination, expanding settlements, regular bombings on Gaza, added to decades of failed peace negotiations and the more recent spate of low-level violence against Israelis, have all contributed to the strong feelings of distrust reported by both Palestinians and Israelis. Indeed, 89 percent of Palestinians responded that they felt Israeli Jews are untrustworthy, while 68 percent of Israeli Jews held similar opinions toward the Palestinians.
Results also indicated that while 65 percent of Israelis fear Palestinians, only 45 percent of Palestinians fear Israelis.
Hermann, surprised by the higher levels of fear cited by Israelis, explained that many Israelis have no contact with Palestinians, making it easier to "dehumanize" them.
Hermann added that the recent spate of violence had stunned Israelis who had been more insulated from the conflict than Palestinians living under Israeli occupation. She also said that Israeli political — by depicting Palestinians as "utterly hostile" — contribute to the omnipresent atmosphere of tension and fear.
"The only images the average Israeli, and I suppose the average Palestinian, gets are the negative ones," she said.
The poll interviewed 1,270 Palestinians and 1,184 Israelis in June, and had a margin of error of 3 percentage points. It was conducted by the Israel Democracy Institute, where Hermann is a senior fellow, and Shikaki's Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research.
