Poll: East J'lem residents prefer Israeli citizenship

Survey held ahead of PA's bid for statehood finds 35% of east Jerusalemites would opt to remain Israelis, 40% likely to move to Israel if their neighborhood became part of Palestine

Elior Levy

Published:  05.05.11, 01:00 / Israel News

A recent survey conducted by Pechter Middle East Polls, in partnership with the Council on Foreign Relations, ahead of the possible Palestinian bid for statehood in September, revealed that given a choice, the majority of east Jerusalem residents would prefer to remain Israelis.

The survey sampled 1,039 Palestinians living in all 19 neighborhoods of east Jerusalem, and was supervised by Dr. David Pollock. 

Perhaps the most striking finding regarded the residents' citizenship preference, after a two-state solution  is reached: When asked if they preferred to become citizens of Palestine or remain citizens of Israel, only 30% chose Palestinian citizenship.

Thirty five percent chose Israeli citizenship and 35% declined to answer or said they didn’t know.

The survey's findings were presented as part of a Tel Aviv University conference hosted by its International Conflict Resolution Program.

• For the full survey click here  

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