INSS poll: 46% of West Bank Palestinians say Israel lacks right to exist; majority prefer negotiations
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- 46% of West Bank Palestinians surveyed said Israel does not have a right to exist; 41% said it does (per jpost.com).
- 42% believed it was possible to bring about the end of Israel’s existence, while 32% said it was impossible (per jpost.com).
- 52% said they would prefer negotiations as a way to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; 12% preferred armed resistance (per jpost.com).
- 91% expressed concern about IDF operations in the West Bank; 60% reported a low or very low sense of personal security (per jpost.com).
A new poll by the Institute for National Security Studies found that 46% of West Bank Palestinians surveyed say Israel does not have a right to exist, while 41% said it does (per jpost.com).
The survey of 400 Palestinians conducted by telephone between June 27 and July 2, 2026, with a margin of error of 4.9%, also recorded sharply ambivalent views about methods for resolving the conflict: 52% said they preferred negotiations as a way to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and 12% preferred armed resistance (per jpost.com).
The poll showed a significant gap between attitudes toward Israel’s legitimacy and preferred tactics — while nearly half reject Israel’s right to exist on principle, a majority nonetheless favors diplomacy over violence, and 57% judged violence to have failed (per jpost.com).
Respondents also reported acute personal insecurity: 91% said they were concerned about Israel Defense Forces operations in the West Bank and 60% said they felt a low or very low sense of personal security (per jpost.com).
The INSS results further indicate persistent beliefs about the feasibility of eliminating Israel: 42% of respondents said they believed it was possible to bring about the end of Israel’s existence, whereas 32% said it was impossible (per jpost.com).
The poll broke out preferred political end-states: 27% favored a two-state solution, 22% supported a single binational state with equal rights, and 26% preferred a single Palestinian state without Jewish presence (per jpost.com).
These results suggest simultaneous rejection of Israel’s legitimacy among a plurality in the West Bank and a pragmatic tilt toward negotiations among a majority — a mix that helps explain why political rhetoric can remain uncompromising even as many Palestinians indicate a preference for diplomatic channels over renewed armed struggle (per jpost.com).
- West Bank Palestinians bear concrete costs: 91% reported concern about IDF operations and 60% reported a low or very low sense of personal security, indicating ongoing daily insecurity for residents (per jpost.com).
- The Palestinian political scene stands to gain from majority support for negotiations: 52% preference for talks could strengthen leaders and factions willing to pursue diplomacy rather than armed resistance (per jpost.com).
- Hardline positions persist: 46% saying Israel lacks a right to exist and 42% saying ending Israel’s existence is possible signal a persistent constituency for maximalist political goals that complicate negotiated outcomes (per jpost.com).
- International mediators and Israeli policymakers benefit politically from the diplomacy preference data: the 57% view that violence has failed could be used to justify renewed diplomatic engagement or pressure for talks (per jpost.com).
- Whether Palestinian political leaders or negotiators cite the INSS poll results in public platforms or bargaining positions during any diplomatic contacts over the next three months.
- Whether Israeli policymakers reference the 91% concern about IDF operations in the West Bank when reviewing operational policy or security measures at the IDF command level.
- Whether civil society groups or international mediators promote negotiations given the poll’s 52% preference for talks versus the 12% preferring armed resistance within the next quarter.
- Whether follow-up polls track shifts in the 46% rejection of Israel’s right to exist after any major security operation or diplomatic initiative occurring before the end of 2026.
- Only one outlet (jpost.com) is in this pack; therefore no cross-outlet framing differences are available in this set (per jpost.com).
- No source in this pack disputes the poll figures; the dataset is from a single INSS poll reported by jpost.com (per jpost.com).
- No source here mentions prior triggering actions or specific recent IDF operations that might explain the 91% concern about IDF operations; that causal detail is omitted (not in jpost.com).
- No source in this pack provides demographic breakdowns (age, gender, locality) of respondents that could explain variance in replies (not in jpost.com).
- No source here cites Palestinian Authority, Israeli government, or international reactions to the poll results; those accountability and policy responses are omitted (not in jpost.com).
- No source mentions longer-term trends or earlier comparable polls to show whether views are shifting over time (not in jpost.com).
- Only jpost.com figures are available in this pack: 46% vs 41% on Israel’s right to exist; 52% prefer negotiations; 12% prefer armed resistance; 42% say ending Israel’s existence is possible; poll sample 400, conducted June 27–July 2, 2026 (per jpost.com).
- The poll reports high concern about IDF operations but does not link those concerns to any specific IDF action or date; causality between operations and attitudes is not established in the source (per jpost.com).
- All figures and claims in this brief are attributed to the Institute for National Security Studies as reported by jpost.com (per jpost.com).