51% of the Israeli public supports the establishment of a demilitarized Palestinian state in exchange for the return of all the kidnapped and normalization with Saudi Arabia.

Against the backdrop of ongoing discussions regarding the “day after” the war in the Gaza Strip, the international community is concerned about the Israeli public’s opposition to the two-state solution, taking into account the bias of this public toward the right since the October 7 attack. But a new public opinion poll showed that the Israeli public could support a settlement that includes the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Meanwhile, the political echelon has assessed in recent weeks that the Israeli public is leaning towards the right in its positions, and it will be difficult for it to accept pressures for a political settlement. According to these estimates, the public is likely to see the negotiations on establishing a Palestinian state in Gaza as an achievement for Hamas. Among Netanyahu's circles, there are those who warned against calling the current war in historical consciousness the "Palestinian War of Independence."

  A foreign diplomat with intimate knowledge of international efforts to reach a viable regional solution after the war said that the public in Israel would oppose pushing forward such a solution, and added: “We have the impression that the Israeli public has lost confidence in the settlement with the Palestinians, and must be encouraged to see that there is hope.” "With such steps." In the opinion of this diplomat, the establishment of a Palestinian state can be linked to the normalization agreement between Saudi Arabia and Israel. He said: “Saudi Arabia has made clear that it will not move towards an agreement with Israel without making real progress with the Palestinians, but it did not demand the establishment of a Palestinian state first.” He explained: “The American president has a limited time to pay attention to this, and he needs a major political achievement in the Middle East in his campaign for the presidential elections. If it is possible to reach a settlement with Saudi Arabia in exchange for a serious Israeli willingness to discuss the establishment of a Palestinian state, then this will be considered an achievement.” .

However, despite estimates that the Israeli public is biased towards the right, an opinion poll of 500 people showed that this public could support the establishment of a demilitarized Palestinian state within the framework of a settlement that includes the return of all kidnapped persons and normalization with Saudi Arabia. According to the poll conducted by the “Medgham” Center for Research and Consultation, headed by Manu Geva, at the request of the “Geneva Initiative” [a movement founded on 12/1/2023 that supports a permanent Palestinian-Israeli agreement], 51.3% of the public in Israel supports an agreement supported by the United States. , returns the kidnapped people, within which a demilitarized Palestinian state is established in the West Bank and Gaza, and a normalization agreement is reached between Israel and Saudi Arabia, while 28.9% opposed the agreement, and 19.8% said that they had no opinion.

In response to the question: What situation do you prefer after 3 years in the Gaza Strip? 50.5% responded that they prefer not to have Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip, while 32% said that they prefer the presence of Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip, and 17.5% have no opinion. The question was also raised: Did their relationship with the United States change after October 7, and how? 65% responded that the relationship with the United States since October 7 is good; 38.2% saw that it has not changed, and is still good; 26.3% said that the relationship became better after October 7, and 17.1% said that it became worse.

The Director General of the Geneva Initiative, Gadi Baltiansky, considered that the results of the poll clearly prove that the Israeli public is ready to accept a demilitarized Palestinian state in exchange for regional security and the return of all the kidnapped.