Few Palestinians in Jerusalem covet Israeli citizenship
Today, only 15% of Palestinian residents of Jerusalem say they want Israeli rather than Palestinian citizenship, likely a result of support from Turkey, the Palestinian Authority and Hamas.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Only 15% of Palestinians living in Jerusalem would choose Israeli over Palestinian citizenship, compared to 52% in 2015, according to an opinion poll by the Washington Institute for Middle East Studies. The poll was supervised by David Pollock, who presented the poll during a virtual lecture hosted by the Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research on May 9.
The poll, conducted over 2018, 2019 and the first two months of 2020, revealed significant changes in opinions among the Palestinian population in Jerusalem, compared to previous surveys in 2010, 2011 and 2015.
Israel grants Palestinians in Jerusalem, about 435,000 people, an ID card denoting permanent resident status and refuses to allow them to obtain Palestinian citizenship.
Pollock attributed the change in the views of Palestinian Jerusalemites during the past five years to several reasons, notably the outbreak of the Jerusalem uprising in 2015, which lasted for a year and a half, in addition to the tension surrounding Al-Aqsa Mosque.
