Hamas’ killing of an estimated 1,400 Israelis — the vast majority being civilians killed in their homes — has been followed by another humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Already, as many as 3,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli retaliatory bombing, as a potential Israeli ground invasion appears imminent.
Even before the latest chapter in the conflict, Palestinians’ belief in the potential for diplomatic solutions had reached a historical low. The latest spate of killing in Israel and Gaza only threatens to put a solution further out of sight than it has been in generations, with promises of more violence in the future.
Writing for Gallup, Jay Loschky reports that this survey of Palestinian attitudes, “represents the views of Palestinians based on World Poll interviews conducted between July and September that concluded the week before Hamas launched an attack on Israel. Gallup’s World Poll fieldwork in Israel was scheduled to begin Oct. 9, but the war has delayed polling.”
The Poll findings were striking. Finding that, “like his predecessors, most Palestinians do not trust Biden to help mediate a fair peace treaty between Israel and the Palestinian Territories. Eighty-four percent of Palestinians polled in the months and weeks leading up to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel said they have little to no trust in Biden, including 70% who said they have “none at all.”
Notably, support for a two-state solution among Palestinians has declined to 24% which is less than half (60%) of where it stood in 2012
Younger Palestinians, in particular, “no longer support a solution that would see two countries existing side by side. One in six Palestinians between the ages of 15 and 25 said they support a two-state solution, compared with 34% of Palestinians aged 46 and older.”
Given the youthful demographic of the Palestinian Territories, where 69% of the population is under the age of 29, skepticism among young people signals a concerning turn for the future should a diplomatic solution seem out of reach.
The full article can be read here.
