A majority of Palestinians now reject the notion that there should be a state of Israel alongside a future state of Palestine, according to a poll released Monday.
The Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research, a Ramallah-based operation, found that 51 percent of Palestinians no longer support a two-state solution, but 48 percent still accept its premise, Reuters reports.
The poll was conducted between September 17-19 and surveyed Palestinian residents of the West Bank and Gaza.
Noticeably, the polling was carried out in the midst of ongoing Palestinian rioting in Jerusalem. On the Jewish New Year of Rosh Hashana, Palestinian terrorists attempted to set off pipe bombs and kill Jewish visitors to the Temple Mount, a Jerusalem site that carries much religious significance. to both Muslims and Jews.
“Additionally, the developments indicated in this poll might have also been triggered by anger at the Arab world as the overwhelming majority believes that Arabs no longer care about the fate of the Palestinians,” said poll director Khalil Shikaki.
About two-thirds of respondents wanted Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas—who has been ruling the Palestinian territories in the West Bank without elections for 10 years—to step down. If elections were finally held again, over one-third said they would vote for jihadi group Hamas to rule Palestinian lands.
Palestinians propose armed action as the best means to establish their state, with 42 percent favoring the method as opposed to just 29 percent favoring negotiations with Israel.
And more than two-thirds say they will continue to support rocket strikes on Israel from Gaza-ruling terror group Hamas, According to the poll’s results.
The polling institute relayed common biases in its questions that are popular among Palestinians, such as describing Israeli residents of the disputed territories as “settlers” and referring to the West Bank as an “occupied” Palestinian territory.
Moreover, Palestinians remain the most anti-Semitic people in the world, when polled. According to the Anti-Defamation League, 93 percent of Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza harbor anti-Semitic sentiments.