Palestinian public opinion is not static: Views respond to changing events and expectations that create positive or negative feedback loops. Also, Gazan and West Bank views diverge significantly on some points, including several key issues relevant to U. A majority of East Jerusalem respondents once supported a two-state solution. There was an exception in , when 44 percent of West Bank respondents, a seven-point plurality, said that ending the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza to achieve a two-state solution was their main goal.
By , however, West Bank support for a maximalist Palestine rose sharply to two-thirds—even higher than in Gaza, where the option garnered 56 percent support. In polls, only about 10 percent of West Bank and Gazan respondents favored this option over either a Palestinian state or two states.
As of , 40 percent of Gazans but just 26 percent in the West Bank believe that the negotiated two-state solution should end the conflict. While these general views are concerning—and may call for scrutiny of internal Palestinian Authority PA messaging —they are not necessarily a general endorsement of Hamas policies.
Since that number has doubled to 70 percent; in contrast, only 32 percent of West Bank respondents say they believe that. This viewpoint among Gazans may help explain their growing relative flexibility on several key issues. The recent conflict likely affects these views. As the repeated cancelations of Palestinian elections have demonstrated, neither the PA nor Hamas runs a democracy.
In both places, public opinion has only a limited impact on policy. Yet where there is current popular support for policy coordination, there may be stronger popular support for more comprehensive compromises and solutions over time. Where official Palestinian policy enjoys solid popular support, active U. Without some compelling reason to take that risk, the United States should probably avoid it.
In contrast, discrepancies between official Palestinian policy and public opinion, especially in Gaza, along with strong Palestinian support for better governance, could open avenues through which the United States can pursue immediate changes to the status quo, even apart from any question of mediating future negotiations. Ideally, such U. More broadly, the Israeli Occupation can be understood as a system of military rule under which Palestinians are denied civil, political and economic rights and subjected to systematic discrimination and denial of basic freedom and dignity.
For more information, visit Facing the Nakba. Although Palestinian citizens of Israel are entitled to vote and participate in Israeli political life, and several Palestinians are members of the Knesset the Israeli parliament , they do not receive the same treatment as the Jewish citizens at the hands of the government.
For example, the Law of Return grants automatic citizenship rights to Jews from anywhere in the world upon request, while denying that same right to Palestinians. Government resources, meanwhile, are disproportionately directed to Jews and not to Arabs, one factor in causing the Palestinians of Israel to suffer the lowest living standards in Israeli society by all economic indicators.
In a coalition of Palestinian civil society groups issued a call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions BDS against Israel until it complies with international law. The Palestinian BDS call asks international civil society groups and individuals to use boycott, divestment, and sanction tactics until Israel meets its obligations under international law to:. Supporters of the call include those who support 1 state, 2 states, a confederation or some other configuration— but we all agree Israel must recognize the fundamental rights listed above.
Neither they nor their descendants have been allowed by Israel to return to their homes - Israel says this would overwhelm the country and threaten its existence as a Jewish state.
Israel still occupies the West Bank, and although it pulled out of Gaza the UN still regards that piece of land as occupied territory. Israel claims the whole of Jerusalem as its capital, while the Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state. The US is one of only a handful of countries to recognise the city as Israel's capital.
In the past 50 years Israel has built settlements in these areas, where more than , Jews now live. Palestinians say these are illegal under international law and are obstacles to peace, but Israel denies this. Gaza is ruled by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which has fought Israel many times.
Israel and Egypt tightly control Gaza's borders to stop weapons getting to Hamas. Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank say they are suffering because of Israeli actions and restrictions. Israel says it is only acting to protect itself from Palestinian violence. The threatened eviction of some Palestinian families in East Jerusalem has also caused rising anger. There are a number of issues which Israel and the Palestinians cannot agree on.
These include: what should happen to Palestinian refugees; whether Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank should stay or be removed; whether the two sides should share Jerusalem; and - perhaps most tricky of all - whether a Palestinian state should be created alongside Israel.
Peace talks have been taking place on and off for more than 25 years, but so far have not solved the conflict. In short, the situation isn't going to be sorted out any time soon. The most recent peace plan, prepared by the United States when Donald Trump was president, was called "the deal of the century" by Israel's then-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But it was been dismissed by the Palestinians as one-sided and never got off the ground.
Any future peace deal will need both sides to agree to resolve complex issues. He's seen previous wars end like this before: "Similar things have been said by both sides in claiming victory and then essentially the seeds of the next conflict are sown.
Correction 21st June An earlier version of this article incorrectly described the US as recognising Israel's claim to the whole of Jerusalem and this has been amended to instead explain that the US recognises the city as Israel's capital. Listen to Newsbeat live at and weekdays - or listen back here. Israel-Gaza ceasefire holds despite Jerusalem clash.
The child victims of the Israel-Gaza conflict.
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