The majority of Israelis would support the Arab Peace Initiative, according to a poll whose findings were partially published on the Al-Monitor news website Monday. The Israel Peace Initiative-commissioned opinion poll found that, after having the Arab initiative explained to them, 55 percent of respondents said they would support the initiative to some degree, with 27% “strongly opposing” and 17.5% unsure how to answer.

In a scenario where the government backs the initiative, however, the number of proponents jumped to 69% and those who “strongly oppose” dropped to 18%. The poll was conducted on May 20 by Israeli polling company New Wave Research, interviewing a sample of 500 Hebrew-speaking Israelis over the age of 18, Al-Monitor specified. The sample margin of error was 4.4%.

Hadash demonstration in Rabin Square, Tel-Aviv, for an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel, June 2011 (Photo: Al Ittihad)

The report also revealed that while half of the male interviewees support Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the number drops to 31% among the female portion of the sample. Moreover, the poll found that support for the prime minister is higher among older adults and almost nonexistent among younger ones, according to Al-Monitor. Additionally, the poll found that strong opposition to the prime minister is most widespread in central Israel. Perhaps the most surprising result was that 73.5% of Hebrew-speaking Israelis had never heard of the Arab Initiative, or knew of its existence but were unfamiliar with its details.