Poll: Majority of Palestinians Support Two-State Solution

A new poll released on Thursday, November 7 indicates strong support among the Palestinian public for a two-state solution, coming as it does amidst fears that tensions in Jerusalem could lead to a violent confrontation with Israel. The poll, which was conducted by the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion during the second half of October among 1,000 adults living in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, also reveals broad hopes for the possibility of peace in the coming decades, despite pessimism over the short term future.

Palestinian youths throws stones during clashes with Israeli occupation forces at the Israeli Qalandia checkpoint between the West Bank city of Ramallah and Jerusalem on Friday, November 7, 2014 (Photo: Activestills)

Palestinian youths throws stones during clashes with Israeli occupation forces at the Israeli Qalandia checkpoint between the West Bank city of Ramallah and Jerusalem on Friday, November 7, 2014 (Photo: Activestills)

In a series of face-to-face interviews, respondents were asked a number of questions relating to the political situation, Palestinian political parties, and the chances of peace with Israel. 54 percent of Palestinians polled voiced support for a two-state solution “in principle,” while only 31 percent opposed it. Although no such options were given by the pollsters, respondents who oppose the two-state solution ostensibly support either a single-state solution in which both Israelis and Palestinians would live side-by-side or a single state for Palestinians only.

Support for a two-state solution has remained relatively consistent during the past year, a November 2013 An-Najah University poll having reflected nearly equal results among respondents. In the poll released last week, a majority of Palestinians expressed optimism over the possibility of peace with Israelis in the future, with 43 percent saying it was “certain” or “likely,” while 26 percent said it was “possible” that a state of peace would exist by the time the respondents’ children reached adulthood. Only 28 percent said that such a future peace was “unlikely” or would never occur. 50 percent of those polled predicted a violent confrontation with Israel in the near future as a result of the current situation in Jerusalem, which has witnessed daily clashes in recent weeks.