Comment & Debate
Yitzhak Benhorin. Poll: Jerusalem Arabs prefer Israel – In a 2011 opinion poll, many Palestinian residents from East Jerusalem showed strong opposition to ceding their neighborhoods to the Palestinian Authority, and an interest in keeping their Israeli identity cards. Some 40% said that they would move to Israel if their neighborhood was transferred to the Palestinian Authority, and 39% estimated that most of their neighbors preferred Israeli citizenship, while only 29% said that they would move to a Palestinian neighborhood if theirs remained in Israel, and 31% estimated that most of their neighbors preferred Palestinian citizenship. The rest declined to answer or said they didn’t know. The poll also showed that 35% prefer Israeli citizenship, 30% prefer Palestinian citizenship, and 30% didn’t know or preferred not to answer. This poll, conducted in all of East Jerusalem’s 19 Arab neighborhoods, shows that Palestinians are mostly satisfied with their present conditions. Their Israeli identity cards entitle them to all the rights of Israeli citizens except the right to vote in national elections, though they can still vote in municipal elections. They are also all entitled to citizenship upon request, in which case they may vote in national elections.