JERUSALEM (JTA) — Half of the Israeli public supports applying Israeli sovereignty over parts of the West Bank, a new survey found, while 58 percent of respondents believe unilateral annexation by Israel could lead to a third Palestinian intifada.
Twenty-five prevent of Israelis support annexation with the support of the United States, and the same percentage said they support such a move even without the backing of the Trump administration, according to the Israeli Voice Index monthly survey conducted by the Guttman Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research at the Israel Democracy Institute.
Thirty percent of Israelis opposed annexation, the survey found, and 20 percent responded “don’t know.” Some 57 percent of Arab-Israelis surveyed said that they were opposed to annexation, with 20 percent responding “don’t know.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last week in a meeting with government ministers that he has a target date in July to extend Israeli sovereignty over about 30% of the West Bank, which is provided for in the Trump administration’s Israeli-Palestinian peace plan.
Those who most support applying Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank are voters for the haredi Orthodox parties and the farther right Yamina. Among voters for the centrist-left Blue and White, the majority opposes applying sovereignty either with or without U.S. agreement and only about one third favor it. The highest rates of Likud voters are prepared to apply sovereignty even without U.S. consent.
The poll, which was taken between May 27 and May 31, interviewed 622 men and women in Hebrew and 149 in Arabic. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percent.
