An overwhelming majority – some 93% -- of Arab residents of east Jerusalem prefer to live under Israeli governance than that of the Palestinian Authority, a new poll from the Palestine News Network shows.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
The survey asked respondents whether they supported continued Israeli control of the city or a transfer of it to the Palestinian Authority.
Of the 1,200 Arab residents queried, 1,116 said that they preferred the former. Only 84 respondents answered that they would prefer the city to be under the responsibility of the PA, although they also noted that they would refuse to give up their Israeli identity cards and/or residency documents.
Only five respondents said they would prefer to carry PA identity cards.
The result of the survey contrast markedly with a poll conducted in May 2020 that indicated that a majority of Arab residents of east Jerusalem would prefer Palestinian citizenship over Israeli.
In the 2020 survey, conducted by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy in conjunction with Palestinian pollsters, only about 15% of people asked said they preferred Israeli citizenship over Palestinian citizenship, compared to 52% who said they would rather be "Israeli" and not "Palestinian" when questioned on the matter in polls conducted between the years 2010-2015.
Responding to the findings of the 2020 poll, researcher Dr. David Pollock explained that while most Palestinians still believe Israel is an illegitimate state and yearn for control over all of "'historic Palestine," they are "realistic enough to tell pollsters this is 'a dream' and that 'Israel is here to stay.'"
Nadav Shragai contributed to this report.
Reprinted with permission from JNS.org. Nadav Shragai contributed to this report.
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
