The most recent poll finds that East Jerusalem Arabs have become far more moderate in the past two years.
Today, half (48%) of the city’s Palestinian residents say that, if they had to make a choice, they would prefer to become citizens of Israel, rather than of a Palestinian state. From 2017 to early 2020, that figure hovered around just 20%. Today, only a minority (43%) of East Jerusalemites say they would pick Palestine; while the remainder (9%) would opt for Jordanian citizenship. Among West Bankers, the comparable figures are Israel, 25%; Palestine, 65%; Jordan, 10%.Significantly, this sharp contrast is now evident on other, related questions as well. For instance, in East Jerusalem, 63% agree at least “somewhat” with this purposely provocative statement: “It would be better for us if we were part of Israel, rather than in Palestinian Authority or Hamas ruled lands.” In the West Bank, the corresponding figure is less than half that proportion (28%).
Interestingly, the "Jordanian option" which had not even been a consideration at all in previous polls has become significant.
Another major divergence between Jerusalem Arabs and West Bank Arabs was the question, “I hope some day we can be friends with Israelis, since we are all human beings after all.” 54% of Jerusalem Arabs agreed, compared to just 26% in the West Bank.
But when questions were phrased in emotional or religious terms, the Jerusalem Arabs were even more extreme than those in the West Bank:
For example, 23% of East Jerusalem Palestinians agree “strongly” with this assertion: “I sincerely worry that Israel wants to destroy the Al-Aqsa mosque and harm our religion.” An additional 46% agree “somewhat” with that sentiment. Nineteen percent agree “strongly” that “we should demand Palestinian rule over all of Jerusalem, east and west, rather than share or divide any part of it with Israel”; an additional 45% offer lukewarm agreement, given that maximalist formulation. Finally, this deliberately inflammatory hypothetical arouses the harshest responses: “When I think about the occupation, I get so angry that I wish all Israelis would disappear.” A large minority (41%) “strongly” agree, with another 33% “somewhat” agreeing as well.
Support for violence across the board has lessened somewhat since the last poll in February 2020, but it is still quite significant - and under-reported.
In the West Bank, there is little distinction between Israelis, "settlers" and security personnel. 53% support and 37% oppose attacks on Jews in Israel, and a similar percentage support attacking Israelis in the West Bank as well as Israeli soldiers or police.
But a significant percentage - 23% - also support attacking tourists in Israel.
And pure antisemitism is evident in the response to the question of whether it is good or bad to attack Jews anywhere in the world. 22% say it is good - half the number from 2020, but still more than one in five West Bank Arabs want to see Jews killed everywhere.
