A majority of Israeli Jews support as a practical plan U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposal to relocate Gazans to other countries, according to a survey published on Monday.
In the survey among 650 Jewish adults and 200 Arab ones, conducted for the Jewish People Policy Institute, 52% of Jewish Israelis said that it was “a pragmatic plan that we should try to pursue.” Among Arabs, only 8% gave this answer.
Trump said in January that he’s asked King Abdullah II of Jordan “to take on more, because I’m looking at the whole Gaza Strip right now and it’s a mess, it’s a real mess. You’re talking about a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing.”
He later said Egypt should also take in more Gazans.
In the survey, a majority of Arabs opposed the plan, with 54% saying it should be rejected because it’s immoral. Among Jews, 3% of respondents gave that answer.
Overall, 46% of Jewish and Arab respondents endorsed the plan as a practical goal. Another 30% of Jews and 9% of Arabs said they “don’t think this is a practical solution but I wish it were.” Another 13% of Jews and 18% of Arabs said the plan was “a diversion and we should focus on practical solutions.”
Among Arabs, 11% said they didn’t know, as did only 1% of Jews.
Overall, 46% of respondents said the plan was practical and they supported it; 26% said it wasn’t practical but they supported it; 14% said the plan was a diversion and 13% said it was immoral and should be opposed on those grounds. Another 3% overall said they didn’t know.
The full results of the survey are scheduled to be published next month. The survey has a margin of error of 3.2%.
