A Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security poll shows that 60% of Israelis who have an opinion want Israeli law applied to the Jordan Valley, while 57% think it should apply also to settlements in Judea and Samaria. A JISS position paper recommends that Israel move ahead with Trump peace plan, in stages.
Israel Hayom 22.05.2020
By Ariel Kahana
Most of the Israeli public supports the plan to apply Israeli law to the Jordan Valley and Israelis settlements in Judea and Samaria, a new poll from the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security reveals.
Looking at the total responses, 42% of Israelis polled said they were in favor of Israeli sovereignty in the Jordan Valley, with 27% opposing the plan. Another 31% said they had no opinion.
Among Israelis who had a clear opinion on the issue, 60% were in favor of applying Israeli law in the Jordan Valley, compared to 40% who opposed the move.
The poll also asked respondents where they stood on applying Israeli law to all Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria. A similar percentage, 43%, said they were in favor, 32% said they opposed the plan, and 25% had no opinion.
Among Israelis who had a clear opinion about applying Israeli sovereignty to Judea and Samaria settlements, 57% said they were in favor of Israeli law being applied to all Jewish settlements, with 43% opposing the idea.
Among Jewish respondents alone, an even larger majority was in favor of applying sovereignty (75% and 64%, respectively).
Not surprisingly, respondents who said they opposed Israeli sovereignty in Judea, Samaria, and the Jordan Valley held left-wing political views. None of the respondents who supported Yamina, Shas, or the far-Right Otzma Yehudit party in the last election opposed the application of Israeli law to those areas, and only 10% of Likud voters opposed the plan.
The poll was conducted this week by the Maagar Mohot Polling Institute under Professor Yitzhak Katz using a representative sample of 505 Israelis age 18 and over. The margin of error was 4.4%.
A new JISS position paper recommends implementation of the Trump administration’s peace plan. The authors, JISS President Professor Efraim Inbar and his deputy Col. (res.) Dr. Eran Lerman, call on the Israeli government to apply Israeli law to the Jordan Valley and areas around Jerusalem that are of importance to national defense and security, such as Maaleh Adumim and Gush Etzion.
According to the researchers, “The results of the polls prove unequivocally that these settlement areas are anchored in the Israeli consensus.”
“In light of this, and given the strategic and historical importance of these areas, the national unity government should use this opportunity and accept the full version of the Trump plan, including negotiations for a Palestinian state. The Trump plan is the most realistic path toward progress, as opposed to the current impasse, which is why it is so important to lay the foundations for its gradual implementation.”
Inbar and Lerman also recommend taking steps to show the Palestinians that they also stand to benefit from moving beyond the current impasse, such as investing in infrastructure.
The researchers argue that the Trump plan should be promoted and Israeli law applied, and that to reduce diplomatic fallout Israel hold “discreet” talks with Egypt and Jordan, as well as increased contact with key states in the international arena. They also said that Israel should prepare for the possibility of violence or “popular” resistance actions from the Palestinian Authority.
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