Israel
This article was added by the user . TheWorldNews is not responsible for the content of the platform.

Lapid says majority of Israelis support two-state solution, but poll finds otherwise

A new poll published Saturday by the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI) found that a majority of Jewish Israelis are opposed to advancing a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Yair Lapid, speaking at the UN General Assembly said “a large majority of Israelis support the vision” of a two-state solution

But the IDI poll found that only 31 percent of Jewish Israelis think that the government to be formed after Israel’s November elections should try to advance a two-state solution. This figure was down from 44% in February 2021.

Meanwhile, 58% of Jewish Israelis were opposed to such a move, according to the new poll. Another 11% were undecided.

Among Arab Israelis, the support for a potential two-state solution was far higher according to the poll, with 60% supporting such a move.

Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories

By signing up, you agree to the terms

The IDI survey was conducted September 18-20 among 753 interviewees (605 Jews and others, and 149 Arabs). It had a margin of error of 3.59 percentage points.

This graph shows support for a two-state solution among Jewish Israelis and Arab Israelis, in a poll conducted by the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI), September 2022.

“An agreement with the Palestinians, based on two states for two peoples, is the right thing for Israel’s security, for Israel’s economy and for the future of our children,” Lapid said Thursday.

“Despite all the obstacles, still today a large majority of Israelis support the vision of this two state solution. I am one of them,” he said.

Lapid said Israel had only a single condition to Palestinian statehood: “That a future Palestinian state will be a peaceful one. That it will not become another terror base from which to threaten the well-being and the very existence of Israel. That we will have the ability to protect the security of all the citizens of Israel, at all times.”

Lapid’s call for a two-state solution in his speech drew condemnation from the right flank of his governing coalition, as well as from former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is currently the opposition leader and his chief rival in upcoming elections.