Poll: Israelis glum on framework agreement odds

The majority of Israelis apparently take a dim view of the chances that their government will reach a framework agreement with the Palestinians, a poll published Tuesday showed.

According to a joint Israel Democracy Institute and Tel Aviv University survey, despite the fact that 65 percent of Israelis (62% of Israeli Jews and 80% of Israeli Arabs) favor peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, a decisive 87% are not optimistic about the odds for success (92% of Jewish Israelis and 62% of Arab Israelis).

Only 12% of Israelis (7% of Jewish Israelis and 35% of Arab Israelis) believe that the chances for the US-brokered negotiations to produce an agreement are high.

The poll also revealed that 65% of the Jewish public agrees with Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon’s critique of American foreign policy, though 72% believe that it should not have been voiced publicly. Ya’alon made several statements critical of US policy in the region over the past months, including calling US Secretary of State John Kerry “messianic” in his peace efforts, and saying Washington had been taken in by Iran.

The monthly Peace Index poll, whose questions are adjusted by IDI and TAU in order to keep up with current events, compiled the responses of 600 Israeli adults. The margin of error was +- 4.1%.