Israelis reject Palestinian statehood in exchange for Saudi peace deal – poll

Israeli opposition to Palestinian statehood hits highest level since Oct. 7.

By David Rosenberg, World Israel News

More than two-thirds of Israelis oppose the establishment of a Palestinian state, according to a new poll — the highest level recorded since the beginning of the war with Hamas more than two years ago.

The poll was conducted by the Lazar Research Institute from Nov. 16 to 17, surveying 698 Israeli Jews and Arabs. It was published Monday by the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs (JCFA).

The survey found that 70% of Israelis oppose the establishment of a Palestinian state along the pre-1967 boundaries. Among Israeli Jews, 79% oppose Palestinian statehood.

Just 21% of Israelis – among them Arabs – support Palestinian statehood, including 8% who support it unconditionally and 13% who say they would only back a Palestinian state that fully recognizes Israel and is completely demilitarized.

Most Israelis also reject an arrangement under which Israel would support Palestinian statehood in exchange for a peace deal with Saudi Arabia, the poll found, with 62% of Israelis opposed to the establishment of a Palestinian state even in exchange for relations with Riyadh.

Nearly three-quarters (73%) of Israeli Jews oppose such an arrangement.

Israelis were more evenly split on a symbolic declaration of future support for a Palestinian state, backing the United Nations Security Council’s resolution Monday that endorses a “pathway” to Palestinian statehood.

While 49% of Israelis – and 57% of Israeli Jews – were opposed to such a declaration under any circumstances, 20% said they would back it only if the new state were fully demilitarized and recognized Israel as a Jewish state.

A narrow plurality (43%) of Israelis oppose the US sale of F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia in exchange for a peace deal between Jerusalem and Riyadh.

Forty percent would support such a deal if the Saudis dropped their demand for Palestinian statehood, though 34% would also condition their backing on an explicit US guarantee to preserve Israel’s qualitative military edge (QME).

A majority (62%) of Israelis support the deployment of an international force to the Gaza Strip to stabilize the area. Just 26% said they preferred Israel to be the sole military force in Gaza.