Recent data, writes Elliott Abrams, suggest deep division on a crucial issue:
It is conventional wisdom that all Palestinians seek, above all else, a Palestinian state. This is a reasonable conclusion to draw, although polls over the years have suggested that it may well be inaccurate.
Consider the most recent poll, conducted by Nabil Kukali of the Palestine Center for Public Opinion, [according to which a] slim majority of Palestinians living in Jerusalem would prefer Israeli citizenship to being citizens of a Palestinian state. . . .
There are many logical reasons for such views. . . . Israel is a democracy, while the future Palestine may not be. Israel is a reasonably rich country with decent medical insurance and old-age pensions, while Palestine may not be. Israel has an international airport and beaches, while Palestine will not have those. No surprises. . . . Palestinians who live in Jerusalem . . . have, it is logical to assert, a more positive view of the actually existing Israel than of the future Palestine. . . .
So what do we learn from this? First, that American and Western—and Israeli—refusal to demand that the Palestinian Authority respect civil and political rights, and build democratic structures, is well recognized by Jerusalem Arabs. . . . Second, that the typical Arab and European denunciations of Israel as a racist society where Arabs are treated so badly is plainly false.
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