Poll: Israelis Back Resumption of Peace Talks

Many Doubt Deal Will Be Reached, But Strong Majority Want to Try

A new poll from the Israel Democracy Institution and Tel Aviv University shows a growing disconnect between the hawkish stances of the Netanyahu government and the Israeli Jewish voters.

While the government is citing the growing protests and violence among East Jerusalem’s Arabs as a reason to reject Palestinian statehood, the poll shows a strong majority, 57.2% of Israelis, want the peace talks with the Palestinians immediately restarted.

Less than 30 percent of Israeli Jews believe the talks will lead to a peace agreement, but 60 percent want the talks to be attempted, whether now or at some point in the future.

A vast majority of the poll’s responders, 64%, also said they believed Netanyahu’s decision to expand the settlements was primarily aimed at building his political support on the far right, as opposed to the national interest.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.