Some 49% of Israelis want Biden to relaunch talks with the PA
When asked if Biden should advance talks with the Palestinians, 49% said “yes,” 36% said “no,” and 15% had no opinion.
By TOVAH LAZAROFFThen US Vice-President Joe Biden (L) meets with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah March 9, 2016(photo credit: REUTERS/DEBBIE HILL/POOL)
Some 49% of Israelis want US President-elect Joe Biden to relaunch negotiations with the Palestinians after he assumes office on January 20, according to a poll commissioned by the left-wing Geneva Initiative.“The Israeli public is much more pragmatic and moderate than its government,” Geneva Initiative director Gadi Baltiansky said.“Israelis want to see a Biden initiative to renew negotiations, an internal Palestinian reconciliation process, and the two-state solution. It’s time for the government to work toward realizing the will of the people,” he added.The poll was conducted on November 16-17 among 505 Israelis over 18, by the Midgam Institute headed by Mano Geva. It has a 4.3% margin of error.When asked if Biden should advance talks with the Palestinians, 49% said “yes,” 36% said “no” and 15% had no opinion.Only 33.5% said they were happy with Biden’s victory over President Donald Trump, 47% said they were unhappy with the result and 20% had no opinion.Those interviewed were split over the impact of the Trump administration’s policies on the “likelihood of achieving a peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians.”Some 30% said they thought the likelihood of a deal had increased, and 30% said it had decreased, with 28% stating it had no effect and 12% registering no opinion.The poll showed that support is still high for a two-state resolution to the conflict, as 48% said they favored it. Some 11% said they wanted a one-state resolution with equal rights for all citizens, and another 11% said they wanted one state with fewer rights for Palestinians. Ten percent said they had no opinion, and 20% said they didn’t like any of the options presented to them by the poll.When asked if they would accept a settlement freeze in exchange for a normalization deal with Saudi Arabia, 40% said yes, 36% said no and 24% had no opinion.
When it came to with which country should Israel next sign an agreement, 29% said they wanted to see a deal with Saudi Arabia, 28% said they wanted one with the Palestinians, 11.5% opted for Qatar, 3% favored Kuwait and 2% said they wanted to see a deal with Oman, 20% had no opinion and 7% said they didn’t like any of the options.With regard to whether Palestinians should be represented by a joint Fatah-Hamas negotiating team in any negotiations with Israel, 39% said they favored such an arrangement and 30% said they opposed it, and 31% had no opinion.
