49% of Israelis Willing to Put Up Wall, Separate from Palestinians

The majority of Israeli Jews (52.8%) say Israel applies the law equally toward Jews and Palestinians living in the West Bank, contrary to a statement made last month by U.S. Ambassador Dan Shapiro. However, 50.1% of respondents thought Israel would be justified in unequal application of the law toward Jews and Palestinians in the territories.

The majority of Israeli Jews (52.8%) say Israel applies the law equally toward Jews and Palestinians living in the West Bank, contrary to a statement made last month by U.S. Ambassador Dan Shapiro. However, 50.1% of respondents of the latest Israel Democracy Index-Tel Aviv University Peace Index survey thought Israel would be justified in unequal application of the law toward Jews and Palestinians in the territories.

This month’s survey—conducted Jan. 26- 28 survey with a poll of 600 Israelis –focused on Israeli-Palestinian relations and on Israel's relationship with the United States and the rest of the international community.

When asked whether or not the U.S. "has a right to criticize Israel on issues" such as security procedures in the West Bank, the majority of the Jewish public (58%) says no. Further, 74% of Jewish Israelis and 70% of Arab Israelis report that Israel is unlikely to change its policies regardless of US criticism.

82% of the Jewish Israeli public are either sure (54%) or think (28%) that the international community heeds Israel's interests less than those of the Palestinians. In contrast, 47% of Arab Israelis are sure or think that the international community cares less about Israel's interests. 

PROSPECTS FOR PEACE

Despite the rise of terror in recent months, Israelis are not opposed to peace talks. When asked whether or not they support peace negotiations, 56.9% of Jewish Israelis and 86.7% of Arab Israelis say they are in favor of talks.

Moreover, a majority (67%) of Israeli Jews support a meeting between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

• Separating from the Palestinians: Earlier this month, opposition leader Isaac Herzog recommended separating Israelis from Palestinians, including the construction of an electrified wall separating the two communities in East Jerusalem. Some 49% favor such a policy while 44% are opposed. Likud (78%) and Yisrael Beiteinu (64%) voters are most in favor of such a plan; Meretz voters (75%) are most opposed. Only 6% of Arab Israelis support the plan.
• Annexing the West Bank: When asked whether the time has come for Israel to formally annex all territories conquered during the 1967 Six-Day War, 45% of Jewish Israeli responded that Israel should. The same number (45%) opposed such action.
• Maintaining the Status Quo: A considerable majority of the Jewish public (61%) disagree with the statement that, "The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is perhaps not ideal but can continue for many years without posing a threat to Israel's security and existence."

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The Peace Index is a project of the Evens Program for Mediation and Conflict Resolution at Tel Aviv University and the Guttman Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research of the Israel Democracy Institute. This month's survey was conducted by telephone on January 26-28, 2016, by the Midgam Research Institute. The survey included 600 respondents, who constitute a representative national sample of the entire adult population of Israel aged 18 and over. The maximum measurement error for the entire sample is ±4.1% at a confidence level of 95%. Statistical processing was done by Ms. Yasmin Alkalay.