The Arab newspaper "Arab News", which is published in London, released a special edition to mark the 75th anniversary of "Nakba Day" and included a survey that examined the position of the Palestinians on a variety of issues, mainly concerning the conflict with Israel, such as the two-state solution and the Abraham Accords. While the survey also examined the extent of the Palestinians' trust in the local leadership, perhaps the most interesting part was how the Palestinians felt about a potential mediator for negotiations with Israel.
According to the survey, approximately 51% responded that they still believe in the two-state rationale as a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. However, the idea is more popular among the older Palestinians, where 63% responded that they support the solution, compared to only 42% among young people aged 18 to 29. Also, 13% responded that they support the establishment of one federal state, shared by Israel and the Palestinians, while among the 25-34 year-olds, the figure stands at 15%. At the same time, 11% of the respondents answered that they prefer to live under the Israeli "occupation" without receiving citizenship.
Poll by Saudi-based Arab News: 51% of Palestinians still support a two-state solution as the answer to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, while 63% no longer feel that they are represented by neither Fatah nor Hamas. https://t.co/dJKzw1qO7o
— Jacob N. Kornbluh (@jacobkornbluh) May 15, 2023
In addition, the survey also tested the degree of trust in the Palestinian leadership. 63% of the respondents answered that they do not see Hamas or Fatah as representing them. Also, only one in four still believes in the Palestinian leadership's ability to successfully negotiate a peace agreement with Israel. The American-Palestinian analyst, Ramzy Baroud, explained that "the Palestinians lost confidence in their leadership years ago, this lack of confidence is fundamentally related to corruption in the PA, but also to the complete failure of the leadership to achieve a significant political victory that could renew the faith of the Palestinian people in the peace process."
Additionally, based on the survey, an absolute majority of 86%, answered that they doubt the willingness of the current government in Israel to reach a peace agreement. However, with regard to the Abraham Accords, 62% responded that they oppose the agreements.
#Nakba75: ‘Prospects, Peace and Politics: Where do Palestinians stand?’ survey by Arab News & @YouGov reveals shocking insight into #Palestinians’ views on current circumstances and future outlook | Read full findings: https://t.co/U0S5ygNoel#Nakba #NakbaDay pic.twitter.com/KqPPoM70Oc
— Arab News (@arabnews) May 16, 2023
52% responded that the political initiative called 'The Abraham Accords' has made Israel more aggressive toward the Palestinians, while 43% disagreed and said the opposite is true. At the very end, the survey participants were asked perhaps the most interesting and most surprising question in the survey; whether they support China mediating between Israel and the Palestinians in order to reach a peace agreement. According to the survey, an absolute majority of 80% answered that they support this, and see Beijing as a potential mediator between Jerusalem and Ramallah.
