Palestinian support for two-state solution losing ground, poll finds

While support for the two-state solution has dropped, the number of Palestinians who support a bi-national state solution has increased.

A PALESTINIAN protests outside Jerusalem. The international community and some Israelis and Palestinians are once again talking about the two-state solution. (photo credit: AMIR COHEN/REUTERS)
A PALESTINIAN protests outside Jerusalem. The international community and some Israelis and Palestinians are once again talking about the two-state solution.
(photo credit: AMIR COHEN/REUTERS)

The number of Palestinians who support a two-state solution has decreased, following Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s decision in April to call off the Palestinian elections, according to a Palestinian public opinion poll.

While support for a two-state solution has dropped, the number of Palestinians who support a binational state solution has increased, according to the poll conducted by the Jerusalem Media and Communication Center.

The percentage of those who believe a two-state solution is the best way to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict dropped from 39% in April to 29%, while the percentage of those who support a binational one-state solution rose from 21% in April to 26% in October, the poll showed.

In the West Bank, support for a one-state solution (30%) polled even higher than a two-state solution (23%), while in the Gaza Strip a two-state solution (37%) remains the preferred option over a one-state solution (19%).

The largest percentage of respondents still believes peaceful negotiations are the best method for “ending the occupation”; 33% support this method; 33% support armed resistance; and 20% support “popular resistance as the best way to end the occupation and establish a Palestinian state.”

 Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas attends a joint press conference with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (not pictured), in the West Bank city of Ramallah, May 25, 2021. (credit: ALEX BRANDON/POOL VIA REUTERS)
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas attends a joint press conference with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (not pictured), in the West Bank city of Ramallah, May 25, 2021. (credit: ALEX BRANDON/POOL VIA REUTERS)

The poll revealed what was described as “citizens’ thirst for legislative and presidential elections.”

More than 70% of those polled said that Abbas should announce a new date for elections, while 18% said he should not.

Furthermore, nearly half of respondents said they had planned to participate in the postponed elections, as opposed to 42% who said they had not planned to  vote.

The poll found that Abbas’s Fatah faction would win the parliamentary election if it was held today: 34% said they would vote for Fatah (44% in the Gaza Strip and 27% in the West Bank), while 10% said they would vote for Hamas.

More than 34% said they would not vote.


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The results showed a huge setback in the level of satisfaction in how Abbas performs as president of the PA: 35%, as opposed to 50% in April.

Meanwhile, the percentage of those dissatisfied with his performance rose to 57% from 42% in April.

Polls conducted by another Palestinian center found that more than 70% of the Palestinian public wants Abbas to step down.

The JMCC poll showed that more than 70% of Palestinians support basing the Personal Status Law on Islamic Sharia law.

The poll, which has a three percent margin of error, covered 1,200 Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.