• Introduction
• Methodology
• Sample distribution
• Occupation of respondents
• Results

Introduction

• The Jerusalem Media and Communciation Centre conducted a poll on the political views and concerns of a random sample of 489 East Jerusalem residents from 24-25 August. The survey was conducted in 26 neighbourhoods throughout the occupied city.

• The poll's results show that East Jerusalemites are determined that they will not continue to live under Israeli Occupation, with 62.8 percent of respondonts saying they prefer war over continued Israeli control over their city.

• In addition, 84,3 percent said they disagree with the decision of some Jerusalemites to obtain Israeli citizenship. Nearly half, 49.9 percent, said they would approve of putting Jerusalem under international supervision.

• Palestinians in East Jerusalem were generally optimistic about the Palestinian future, with 54,4 percent saying they are somewhat or very optimistic, although only 42.2 percent said they were optimistic about the issue of Jerusalem, specifically.

• Respondents were also generally critical of the Palestinian Authority: 49.7 percent said the PA is not doing enough for Jerusalem.

• However, people were divided over PA head Yasser Arafat's performance, as 43.7 percent said it was good or very good. Another 48.7 percent described his performance as average, bad or very bad.

56.8 percent prefer Jerusalem as a capital for two states, either unified or divided and a mere 0.4 percent say Jerusalem should be the unified capital of Israel. 23.3 percent of the respondents prefer Jerusalem to be an international city.

Methodology

A random sample of 489 Jerusalem Palestinians over the age of 18 years, were interviewed face-to-face throughout the Jerusalem District on 24 & 25 August 1995. The interviews were conducted in randomly selected homes, and the subjects inside each home were also selected randomly according to Kish tables methods.

The poll was conducted by JMCC in cooperation with Al-Sharq Al-Awsat Newspaper in London. It aimed to study the opinions of Jerusalem Palestinians on the future of Jerusalem and the peace process. All districts East Jerusalem neighbourhoods were selected in this survey and the number of respondents in each neighbourhood was based on the population size of that neighbourhood. Population size was based on the figures of the Palestine Statistics Bureau. The following are the areas of Jerusalem that were included in the survey: Old Beit Hanina, Um Touba, Sheikh Sa'ad, Hizma, Z'aim, Sheikh Jarrah, Al-Thouri, Kufur Aqab, Qalandia, Al-Swahreh, Sur Baher, Al-Tour, Wadi Aljouz, Shu'fat RC, Issawieh, Anata, Old City, Jabal Al-Mukabber, Abu Deis, Bethany, Shu'fat, Beit Hanina, Al-Ram, Dahiat Al-Bareed, and Silwan.

• 53.4% were male
• 46.4% were female
• 88.1% were Muslim
• 10.4% were Christian
• Average age of respondents: 32
• The average years of schooling 10.5 years
• 60.3% never enrolled in a college or university

Q.1 How do you feel about the future of the Palestinians one year after self-rule began in Gaza and Jericho?
 

	Total	Muslims	Christians
Very optimistic	10.0%	10.7%	5.9%
Somewhat optimistic	44.4%	42.7%	62.7%
No opinion	8.6%	9.9%	2.0%
Somewhat pessimistic	24.1%	24.1%	21.6%
Very pessimistic	12.9%	1.2%	7.8%

Q.2 More than three years since the peace process began, how do you feel about Jerusalem?
 

	Total	Muslims	Christians
Very optimistic	8.0%	9.0%	---
Somewhat optimistic	34.4%	34.3%	31.4%
No opinion	24.7%	23.9%	21.6%
Somewhat pessimistic	21.9%	22.0%	21.6%
Very pessimistic	11.1%	10.6%	11.7%

Q.3 Do you think the Palestinian Authority is doing enough on the issue of Jerusalem?
 

	Total	Muslims	Christians
Yes	38.9%	40.8%	25.5%
No	49.7%	47.3%	60.8%
No opinion	11.4%	10.9%	13.7%

Q.4 Do you accept giving up the "1948 lands" in return for a final solution in which the Palestinians will have their own state in the West Bank and Gaza, with Jerusalem as its capital (1967 borders)?
 

	Total	Muslims	Christians
Yes	39.1%	36.7%	60.8%
No	54.4%	57.3%	31.4%
No opinion	6.5%	10.9%	7.8%

Q.5 How would you describe President Yasser Arafat's performance as the head of the Palestinian Authority?
 

	Total	Muslims	Christians
Very good	15.7%	16.5%	9.8%
Good	28.0%	26.9%	39.2%
Average	28.2%	28.5%	29.4%
Bad	11.7%	10.4%	17.6%
Very bad	8.8%	10.0%	---
No answer	7.6%	7.7%	3.9%

Q.6 Given the current situation, do you approve of the continuation of Hamas and Islamic Jihad's suicide operations against Israeli targets?
 

	Total	Muslims	Christians
Yes	24.3%	26.0%	9.8%
No	62.2%	60.8%	78.4%
Other	1.2%	1.1%	2.0%
No opinion	12.3%	12.1%	9.8%

Q.7 Which passport would you prefer to have?
 

	Total	Muslims	Christians
Jordanian	16.4%	14.8%	29.4%
Israeli	9.2%	9.0%	9.8%
Palestinian	66.1%	68.0%	51.0%
No opinion	8.4%	8.1%	9.8%

Q.8 If Israeli elections for the Jerusalem Municipality were held today, would you participate?
 

	Total	Muslims	Christians
Yes	13.1%	12.8%	--
No	83.2%	83.8%	82.4%
No opinion	3.7%	3.4%	3.9%

Q.9 To what extent is it true that the way the Palestinians landlords in Jerusalem dealt with their tenants contributed to the city's eviction of its Palestinian occupants?
 

	Total	Muslims	Christians
Very true	54.8%	56.1%	47.1%
Somewhat true	30.1%	29.7%	33.3%
It had no effect	11.2%	10.9%	13.7%
No opinion	3.9%	3.2%	5.9%

Q.10 What, would you say, is the main problem which Palestinian Jerusalem residents face?
 

	Total	Muslims	Christians
Taxes	22.5%	22.5%	23.5%
Housing/Building permits	25.6%	25.1%	33.3%
Closure/Feeling of isolation	16.0%	15.8%	15.6%
Settlements/Occupation	7.1%	8.1%	--
General situation	11.7%	11.4%	11.8%
Racism	3.9%	3.5%	7.8%
Other (including imprisonment, drugs and social breakdown)	5.4%	5.5%	6.0%
No opinion	7.8%	8.1%	2.0%

Q.11 Do you agree with the steps taken by some Jerusalem Palestinians, who have obtained Israeli passports?
 

	Total	Muslims	Christians
Yes	10.6%	10.4%	11.8%
No	78.9%	80.8%	72.5%
No opinion	10.5%	9.5%	15.7%

Q.12 Do you believe it is possible to reach a just and comprehensive political solution while there are still Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem?
 

	Total	Muslims	Christians
Yes	9.8%	9.0%	15.7%
No	84.3%	85.4%	76.5%
No opinion	5.9%	5.5%	7.8%

Q.13 Would you approve putting Jerusalem under international supervision?
 

	Total	Muslims	Christians
Yes	49.9%	47.3%	60.8%
No	46.2%	47.8%	37.3%
No opinion	3.9%	9.0%	2.0%

Q.14 What, in your opinion, is the best and final solution to the Jerusalem problem?
 

	Total	Muslims	Christians
Unified capital of Israel	0.4%	0.5%	--
East Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian State	41.5%	43.4%	25.5%
International Jerusalem	23.3%	21.8%	35.3%
Jerusalem as an open city and a capital of the two states	15.3%	14.2%	25.5%
West Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, the Old City is under a joint sovereignty, and East Jerusalem is under Palestinian sovereignty	6.7%	6.7%	6.8%
Other	7.0%	7.7%	2.0%
No opinion	5.7%	5.7%	3.9%

Q.15 How long, do you think, will it be before there is a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital?
 

	Total	Muslims	Christians
Less than 10 years	28.5%	28.7%	30.0%
10-20 years	16.5%	16.0%	19.6%
20-50 years	9.8%	10.8%	9.8%
50-100 years	2.6%	2.5%	3.9%
Many years	13.4%	13.0%	13.5%
Never	9.2%	9.3%	9.6%
No opinion	20.0%	18.8%	13.6%

Q.16 If you havea choice between war and continued Israeli control over Jerusalem, what will you choose?
 

	Total	Muslims	Christians
War	62.8%	67.7%	21.6%
Continued Israeli control	16.0%	14.4%	27.5%
No opinion	21.2%	17.9%	51.0%