Palestinians refuse Israeli 'Jewishness'

Some 68 per cent of Palestinians refuse the establishment of a Palestinian state conditional on the acceptance of Israel as a Jewish nation.

The poll, conducted by the Centre for Future and Public Opinion Studies under the supervision of the deanship of the Public Palestinian Scientific Research, found that the majority of the study’s participants also refused a final solution to the Palestinian issue at the expense of giving up Palestinian control over the Jordan Valley and 90 per cent rejected the continuation of Israeli control over the airspace of the Palestinian territories as well as the Jordan Valley’s airspace.

The majority of participants also refused the establishment of a Palestinian state with three Israeli bases for early warning stations in its lands, or one with Israeli control over its borders and crossings.

The survey said that the majority of participants did not accept a final solution which waives the right of return for Palestinian refugees, or allows Israeli control over Jerusalem, while ensuring freedom of worship for all.

The highest percentage of respondents refused that the final solution to the Palestinian issue would be conditional on the presence of settlers under Palestinian or Israeli sovereignty.

The poll insisted on the continuation of the Palestinian refusal to recognise the Jewishness of the state of Israel and the adherence to the Palestinian constants, including an independent state, Jerusalem, the right of return for refugees, an end to settlement activity, a full Palestinian control of economic resources and water, as well as Palestinian control over the Jordan Valley for being one of the most important strategic and vital areas that constitutes the most important economic pillars and fundamentals of the Palestinian state to come.

Between February 22 and March 13, 716 Palestinians of both sexes and in all the country’s provinces were asked to complete the survey entitled “Trends of the Palestinian Public Opinion Towards the Final Solution”.

The poll focused on the views of Palestinian youth with some 40.9 per cent of respondents aged between 18 and 24, while a further 37.2 per cent were between 26 and 30.