Akiva Eldar
Haaretz
September 20, 2012 - 12:00am
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/poll-majority-of-palestinians-isra...


Around 80 percent of both Israelis and Palestinians say that an Israeli strike against Iran's nuclear facilities would ignite a major regional war, a joint Israeli-Palestinian survey indicated on Thursday, adding that around 70 percent of respondents say they believe the chances of establishing a Palestinian state in the next five years were practically nonexistent.

The poll was led by Prof. Yaacov Shamir of the Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace and the Department of Communication and Journalism at the Hebrew University, and Prof. Khalil Shikaki, Director of the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research. It used a sample of 1270 Palestinian adults in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, along with a sample of 600 Israelis.

According to the study's finding, 77 percent of Israeli respondents and 82 percent of Palestinian resopndents said that an Israeli attack on Iran would result in a major regional confrontation.

Regarding the possibility of an Israeli strike without U.S. backing, 65 percent of Israelis were against such a course of action, an increase from 52 percent in June. In addition, only 18 percent of Israelis said they supported an Israeli attack on Iran without U.S. backing.

Also, the study found that 70 percent of Israelis did not believe Israel would strike Iran in the coming months, with only 20 percent of respondents saying they believe the Iranians' goal is to destroy Israel.

When asked concerning the possibility of founding an independent Palestinian state, 73 percent of Israelis and 71 percent of Palestinians viewed the chances of establishing such a state in the next five years as low or nonexistent.

In addition, the poll indicated that 61 percent of Israelis and 52 percent of Palestinians said they supported the two-state solution, with 36 percent of Israelis and 46 percent of Palestinians opposing such a resolution to the conflict.

Moreover, most Israelis (65 percent) and Palestinians (68 percent) said they oppose the one-state solution, in which "Arabs and Jews enjoy equality."




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