8 Out of Ten Want Maaleh Adumim Annexation, Poll Shows

Nearly eight out of ten Israelis want the government to annex Maaleh Adumim, the large suburb east of Yerushalayim, according to a poll taken on behalf of the Knesset’s Land of Israel Lobby. 78 percent of Israelis of all political backgrounds believe the town should become part of Israel proper, while 88 percent believe that residents of Maaleh Adumim deserve the same rights as all Israelis, and that civil law should be imposed there regardless of the area’s annexation.

That annexation should take place, 70 percent of the scientifically derived sample of all Israelis said, even if the country has to make “sacrifices,” such as handing over equivalent territory within Israel proper to the Palestinian Authority. The city has about 40,000 residents, making it the third largest Israeli city in Yehudah and Shomron, behind Kiryat Sefer (Modi’in Illit), which has 60,000 residents, and Beitar Illit, which has 46,000 residents.

The Lobby said in a statement that it plans to present legislation that would annex the area to Israel. “Maaleh Adumim is seen as being part of the national consensus, and it is part of the political consensus on left and right,” the group said. “It is clear that regardless of the political developments that may come, Maaleh Adumim will remain a part of Israel under all circumstances.

Commenting on the results of the poll, MK Shuli Muallem-Refaeli (Jewish Home) said that Israeli sovereignty should also be imposed on Gush Etzion. “Israelis have chosen a right wing government, and it is not supposed to promote the agenda of the left,” she told Army Radio Tuesday. “This is the most right-wing government Israel has ever had. We need to impose sovereignty not only in Maaleh Adumim, but in Gush Etzion as well.”