Friday, May 19, 2023
Elder of ZiyonAmong the highlights of the findings were that more than half (51 percent) said that they saw a two-state solution as the best one to resolve the conflict, followed by 21 percent considering a federal state as the ideal solution. Only 4 percent said that the best solution would be Gaza going to Egypt and the West Bank going to Jordan, with Palestinians carrying either Egyptian or Jordanian passports.This seems quite strange. The most recent PCPSR poll in March found that only 27% of Palestinians supported a two state solution with 71% opposed.
A hint to explain this difference could perhaps be seen in the YouGov methodology: "The survey results were rebased, in line with accepted industry standards, to remove 'don’t know' or 'can’t say' answers to compare only relevant answers. "
Which means that the respondents had to choose from among the choices given, and if they preferred another answer we don't know about it.
Here were the choices given:
What do you think is the best solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict?Accept that Gaza goes to Egypt and the West Bank goes to Jordan, and Palestinians carry either Egyptian or Jordanian passports - 4%Return to live under full Israeli occupation, but without Israeli citizenship nor a Palestinian Authority - 11%Integrate both sides into one state (Palestinians become Israeli citizens) - 13%Create a federal state - 21%Two state solution - 51%
The "binational" choice wasn't what Palestinians normally consider binational. To them, binational means a majority Arab state with Jews as a minority but with (some) rights. That was not an option here.
And there is one clear choice that many, if not most, Palestinians insist upon, one that they are force-fed in their media and schools all the time: a single Palestinian state with no Israel at all. That was not an option here.
And if anyone did give one of those options on their own, the methodology does not count those answers.
Evidence that a significant number would choose a single Palestinian state or a majority Arab state comes from the most recent JMCC poll in 2022. They asked a similar question with much different choices as answers:
Similarly, the binational state option given here does not say "Palestinians become Israeli citizens."
Both the PCPSR and JMCC surveys put the number of Palestinians against a two-state solution at about 70%.
That 64% with "none of the above" is saying that they simply cannot accept a Jerusalem where Israel has any control - even only over the western side. They want it all, period.
The Arab News/YouGov poll did not give Palestinians the chance to answer the question as they wanted to. Between their limiting the allowed responses and their discarding other responses, this was rigged to make Palestinians look far more supportive of peace than they really are.
Further evidence comes from another Arab News question that, for some reason, did not discard the "Other" answers.
Just as they want everything from the river to the sea.
Clearly the Palestinians are just as intransigent as they were in the other polls. But this poll cooked the books to make them seem more reasonable.
And to anyone who cares about the truth, that is a scandal, both for the Arab News and for YouGov.
(h/t Nathan)
