Old City of Jerusalem. (Shutterstock)
The number is down 14 points from a poll taken in the spring of 2023, before the beginning of the war between Israel and Gaza.
By Vered Weiss, World Israel News
According to the results of a Pew Research poll, just 21% of Israelis believe that peaceful coexistence with Palestinians is possible, the lowest number since the question was first posed in a 2013 survey.
The number is down 14 points from a poll taken in the spring of 2023, before the beginning of the current war between Israel and Gaza.
The number of Jewish Israelis who think peaceful coexistence with a Palestinian state is possible is just 16%, lower than the total number of Israelis.
Israeli Arabs were more optimistic about the potential for peace with a Palestinian state, with 40% saying they felt it was possible.
Just 56% of Israelis said they felt inspired to work toward lasting peace with Palestinians, and only 41% said they felt Palestinians were interested in peace.
Less than half of Israelis (47%) said they believed their government was working actively toward the goal of peace, and 45% said the Palestinian Authority was heading in this direction.
Those interviewed identified the main obstacles to coexistence as the status of Jerusalem, settlements in Judea and Samaria, conflicts between the right and left in Israel politics, and among Israeli Arabs, the conflict between Hamas and Fatah.
However, the main obstacle to coexistence identified by participants in the poll was a lack of trust between Israelis and Palestinians.
Israelis are skeptical about the efforts of foreign leaders, apart fom the US, to use their influence to secure an agreement between Israelis and Palestinians.
Around 81% of Israelis think the US could play a pivotal role in efforts towards peace between the two groups.
Half of Israelis say they believe that US President Donald Trump is showing too much bias in favor of Israel. In contrast, 42% say he is fair, and only 2% believe he is showing favoritism to the Palestinians.
The Pew Center poll was conducted between February 5 and March 11, 2025, among a nationally representative sample of 998 Israeli adults and is the second poll conducted since October 7, 2023.
At the time the poll was administered, there was a temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
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The key to success, Shtonda said, is believing in one’s ability to overcome challenges.