LONDON: One of the biggest surprises to emerge from a survey conducted for Arab News by YouGov is the extent of support among Arab Americans for a one-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Half of those surveyed support the long-proposed two-state solution, “one for Israelis and one for Palestinians with shared governance over the city of Jerusalem.”
But 34 percent favor the creation of a single state in which Palestinians and Israelis would have equal rights.
The one-state solution gains most support among the younger generation — 43 percent of those aged 18-34, against 23 percent among those aged 55 or older.
Surprisingly, 6 percent support no change to the current situation, “with one state for Israelis and no state for Palestinians,” while 9 percent do not know.
In May, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said he no longer supports a two-state solution.
He told Time magazine: “There was a time when I thought two states could work. Now I think two states is going to be … much tougher to get.”
Four years ago, he said: “You had a lot of people that liked the idea. Today, you have far fewer people (who like it).”
But as yet, Trump has offered no alternative solution. According to the YouGov survey, his stance on the issue does not appear to have harmed his popularity among Arab Americans, who are as likely to vote for him as for his Democratic opponent Kamala Harris.
Nevertheless, Trump’s remarks are calculated to appeal directly to the influential pro-Israel lobby in the US.
Read our full coverage here: US Elections 2024: What Arab Americans want
His comments were welcomed by Israel’s extreme right, pro-settler Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who opposes Palestinian statehood.
“I congratulate … Donald Trump for his clear words and his return from his support for the establishment of a Palestinian state,” Smotrich tweeted.
“A Palestinian state would be a terrorist state that would endanger the existence of Israel and the international pressure to establish it is an injustice on a historical scale of the Western countries who are willing to endanger the only Jewish state due to internal political interests.”
Trump’s view about the two-state solution is directly opposed to that of Harris. During a televised debate with him on Sept. 10, Harris said she would work for a two-state solution “round the clock.”
She added: “We must have a two-state solution where we can rebuild Gaza, where the Palestinians have security, self-determination and the dignity they so rightly deserve.”
