News Release

Majorities of Palestinians and Israelis Now Support Permanent Two-State Settlement, Survey Finds

January 25, 2005

WASHINGTON—For the first time since the outbreak of the second Intifada, there is majority public support among Israelis and Palestinians for a permanent, two-state peace settlement, according to recently released joint survey data from the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) in Ramallah and the Harry S. Truman Institute at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

The Israeli survey work was directed by Jacob Shamir, a senior fellow at the United States Institute of Peace and a professor of Communication and Journalism at Hebrew University. Khalil Shikaki, the director of PSR and one of the best-known experts on Palestinian politics, directed the Palestinian survey. Shamir and Shikaki will explain their findings at a U.S. Institute of Peace symposium on the Middle East peace process on January 27 at 11:15 a.m.

Conducted in late 2004 and early 2005, the poll examined Palestinian and Israeli public attitudes regarding the Israeli-Palestinian permanent status negotiations. Regarding final borders and territorial exchange, nearly two-thirds of the Palestinian respondents (63%) said they endorse an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza Strip with the exception of some settlement areas in less than 3% of the West Bank. Fifty five percent of Israeli respondents said they support a Palestinian state within these borders. These results contrast with a 2003 joint survey that showed 57 percent of Palestinian respondents and 47 percent of Israeli respondents supporting a similar proposal.

A complete summary of the survey is available as an Adobe PDF file. For further details on the Israeli survey, contact Dr. Jacob Shamir by phone at (202) 429-3870 or by e-mail at jshamir@usip.org. On the Palestinian survey, contact PSR director Dr. Khalil Shikaki or Ayoub Mustafa by e-mail at pcpsr@pcpsr.org.

The United States Institute of Peace is an independent, nonpartisan institution established and funded by Congress. Its goals are to help prevent and resolve violent international conflicts, promote post-conflict stability and development, and increase conflict management capacity, tools, and intellectual capital worldwide. The Institute does this by empowering others with knowledge, skills, and resources, as well as by directly engaging in peacebuilding efforts around the globe.