Polls Split on Israeli Annexation Opinion

YERUSHALAYIM

A poll released on Sunday said that more Israelis opposed annexation of parts of Yehudah and Shomron than supported it, just a few days after another poll found that half the country is in favor of it.

The left-wing Geneva Initiative group’s poll said in a statement that 41.7% of the Israeli public is against annexation while 32.2% support it.

However, they also found that Israelis in general are not terribly concerned about the issue. Just 3.5% mentioned annexation when asked about their top two priorities for the country. The economy was mentioned by 42.4%, public health by 24.6% and security by 17.4%.

The poll was conducted in early June among 621 respondents. The margin of error was given as 3.9%

By contrast, a poll published by the Israel Democracy Institute last Wednesday said that 50.1% of Israelis are for annexation, 30.9% are against it, and 19% gave no opinion.

The pollsters highlighted a crucial reservation among those in favor of the move: 25.3% said they would only back it with the support of the U.S.; 24.8% said that they would be for it even without Washington.

Asked about the chances of widespread Palestinian violence in the event of an Israeli application of sovereignty, 58.3% thought the chances high, 28.1% low and 13.6% gave no opinion.

When Jewish respondents were divided by political preference, 77% of self-identified leftists, 64% of centrists and 55% of right-wingers said they expected an intifada.

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