Most Jewish Israelis want Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to back the two-state solution to the Middle East conflict, said a poll published on Friday ahead of the premier’s first official trip to Washington next week.
Fifty-eight percent of Jewish Israelis think Netanyahu should support the two-state solution, according to the poll by the Rafi Smith Institute published on the Ynet news website.
Netanyahu, who was sworn in office on March 31, has not publicly endorsed the creation of a Palestinian state, a cornerstone of international peacemaking efforts that has been repeatedly backed by United States President Barack Obama.
The strongest support for two states came from Israel’s secular community, with 73% of non-religious Jews backing withdrawal from occupied territory in return for peace, it said.
Religious Jews polled took a much harder line. Seventy percent of Israel’s Orthodox Jewish community said they ”did not agree with the idea of two states”.
Younger Israelis were more hawkish than their seniors. Of those under the age of 30, only 46% endorsed a Palestinian state, compared with 63% among the over-60s.
The poll was conducted among a representative sample of 500 Jewish Israelis and had a 4,5% margin of error.
The premier will meet Obama in Washington on May 18. — Sapa-AFP