Israel and Palestine: History, National Claims and Paths to Peace

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Israel and Palestine: Historical Connections, Territory and National Self-Determination

This survey examines how people understand the historical connections, national claims and competing political rights of Jewish Israelis and Palestinians.

It also explores attitudes towards past partition and peace proposals and the principles that should guide any future settlement.

Up to 32 questions. Responses are stored anonymously for aggregate analysis.

0/32 answered

Section

Your starting perspective

Question 1 of 32Before beginning this survey, which description is closest to your general perspective on the conflict?

Strongly more sympathetic to the Israeli positionSomewhat more sympathetic to the Israeli positionAbout equally sympathetic to bothSomewhat more sympathetic to the Palestinian positionStrongly more sympathetic to the Palestinian positionNot sympathetic to either positionUnsure / still forming a view

Question 2 of 32Before beginning this survey, which statement is closest to your view?

Both Jewish Israelis and Palestinians have legitimate claims to national self-determination in the landOnly Jewish Israelis have a legitimate claim to national self-determination in the landOnly Palestinians have a legitimate claim to national self-determination in the landNeither population has a legitimate claim to national self-determination in the landHistorical claims alone are insufficient to answer the questionUnsure

Question 3 of 32How familiar are you with the history of Israel and Palestine?

1 - Very Unfamiliar2 - Somewhat Unfamiliar3 - Neither Familiar or Unfamiliar4 - Somewhat Familiar5 - Very familiar

Question 4 of 32Which sources have most shaped your understanding of the conflict?

News mediaBooks or academic publicationsSchool or university educationReligious teaching or communitySocial mediaGovernment or international-organisation publicationsPersonal, family or community experienceAdvocacy organisationsPodcasts, documentaries or online videosOtherNone in particular

Section

Ancient and historical connections

For each statement, indicate how accurate you believe it is.

Question 5 of 32Canaanite societies existed in the region before recognisably Israelite and Philistine societies emerged.

AccurateMostly accurateUnsureMostly inaccurateInaccurate

Question 6 of 32Many historians understand early Israelite society as emerging in the highlands of Canaan from local Canaanite populations around 1250 - 1150 BCE, although the precise process remains debated.

AccurateMostly accurateUnsureMostly inaccurateInaccurate

Question 7 of 32Ancient Israelite populations established kingdoms in the region, including the northern Kingdom of Israel and the southern Kingdom of Judah, which existed during the first millennium BCE.

AccurateMostly accurateUnsureMostly inaccurateInaccurate

Question 8 of 32Ancient identities changed and combined over time and should not be treated as completely separate, fixed populations.

AccurateMostly accurateUnsureMostly inaccurateInaccurate

Question 9 of 32If you assessed any statement as mostly inaccurate or inaccurate, please briefly explain why.

Section

Changing rule, population and identity

For each statement, indicate how accurate you believe it is.

Question 10 of 32The region was governed by successive empires and dynasties, including Roman, Byzantine, Muslim, Crusader, Mamluk and Ottoman rulers.

AccurateMostly accurateUnsureMostly inaccurateInaccurate

Question 11 of 32Under these rulers, names including Palaestina and Filastin were used for administrative or geographic areas, but those areas were not independent sovereign states.

AccurateMostly accurateUnsureMostly inaccurateInaccurate

Question 12 of 32Christian, Jewish, Samaritan, and later, Muslim communities continued to exist in the region across different periods of rule.

AccurateMostly accurateUnsureMostly inaccurateInaccurate

Question 13 of 32The absence of an independent Palestinian state during these periods does not mean the region lacked established local communities with longstanding ties to the land.

AccurateMostly accurateUnsureMostly inaccurateInaccurate

Question 14 of 32Ottoman authorities governed the region through changing districts within a larger empire rather than as an independent Palestinian state.

AccurateMostly accurateUnsureMostly inaccurateInaccurate

Question 15 of 32If you assessed any statement as inaccurate, please briefly explain why.

Section

Ottoman rule, the British Mandate and competing national movements

For each statement, indicate how accurate you believe it is.

Question 16 of 32During Ottoman rule, Jewish, Muslim and Christian communities lived alongside one another in several towns, while the demographic balance varied considerably between different localities.

AccurateMostly accurateUnsureMostly inaccurateInaccurate

Question 17 of 32Any proposed partition therefore required irregular borders and would have left minorities within both proposed states.

AccurateMostly accurateUnsureMostly inaccurateInaccurate

Question 18 of 32Modern political Zionism sought Jewish national self-determination, influenced in part by longstanding persecution and antisemitism.

AccurateMostly accurateUnsureMostly inaccurateInaccurate

Question 19 of 32Palestinian Arab nationalism developed as a modern national movement during the late Ottoman and British Mandate periods.

AccurateMostly accurateUnsureMostly inaccurateInaccurate

Question 20 of 32If you assessed any statement as inaccurate, please briefly explain why.

Section

Partition, war and territorial control

This section distinguishes between a proposed political allocation, recognition of a state, private ownership and territory controlled following war.

Sources

UN General Assembly Resolution 181 (II)

Question 21 of 32In 1947, UN General Assembly Resolution 181 recommended separate Arab and Jewish states and a special international regime for Jerusalem.

AccurateMostly accurateUnsureMostly inaccurateInaccurate

Question 22 of 32Mainstream Jewish Agency leaders accepted partition as a basis for statehood, while the Arab Higher Committee and surrounding Arab states rejected the proposal.

AccurateMostly accurateUnsureMostly inaccurateInaccurate

Question 23 of 32Israel declared independence as the British Mandate ended in May 1948, after which neighbouring Arab states sent military forces into the former Mandate territory.

AccurateMostly accurateUnsureMostly inaccurateInaccurate

Question 24 of 32During the 1947-49 conflict, a large majority of Palestinian Arabs in the territory that became Israel fled, creating a major refugee population.

AccurateMostly accurateUnsureMostly inaccurateInaccurate

Question 25 of 32From 1949 to 1967, Jordan controlled and later annexed the West Bank and East Jerusalem, while Egypt administered Gaza; no independent Palestinian state was established.

AccurateMostly accurateUnsureMostly inaccurateInaccurate

Question 26 of 32Which description best reflects your view of the 1947 partition proposal?

A reasonable compromise under the circumstancesAn imperfect proposal that should nevertheless have been accepted by both sidesUnfair primarily to Palestinian ArabsUnfair primarily to the Jewish populationUnfair to both populationsI do not know enough to judge

Question 27 of 32If you assessed any historical statement in this section as inaccurate, please briefly explain why.

Section

The Clinton Parameters and peace negotiations

In July 2000, US President Bill Clinton brought Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat together at Camp David in an attempt to negotiate a final peace agreement. The summit ended without an agreement or a jointly accepted written proposal.

In December 2000, Clinton presented his own bridging proposal, known as the Clinton Parameters. It proposed:

- A sovereign Palestinian state encompassing Gaza and approximately 96% of the West Bank, supplemented by negotiated land swaps
- Israeli sovereignty over Jewish neighbourhoods of Jerusalem and Palestinian sovereignty over Arab neighbourhoods
- Jerusalem serving as the capital of both states
- Palestinian sovereignty over the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif and Israeli sovereignty over the Western Wall, subject to special arrangements
- Refugee return to the Palestinian state, compensation and resettlement options, with any return to Israel determined by Israel
- Israeli military withdrawal, international security arrangements and a non-militarised Palestinian state
- Formal recognition of both states and an agreement ending the conflict and further territorial claims

Sources

The Clinton Parameters
European Union Special Representative’s non-paper on the Taba negotiations

Question 28 of 32Do you consider the Clinton Parameters a reasonable basis for a two-state peace agreement?

YesMostly, although some changes would be requiredNo, they were too favourable to IsraelNo, they were too favourable to the PalestiniansNo, I oppose a two-state agreementUnsure

Question 29 of 32Could you support a final peace agreement broadly reflecting the terms described in the Clinton Parameters?

YesPossibly, depending on the final detailsNoUnsure

Question 30 of 32Which statement is closest to your interpretation of these negotiations?

The Palestinian leadership rejected a reasonable opportunity for peaceThe Israeli position and reservations prevented a fair agreementBoth leaderships contributed substantially to the failureThe proposal was fundamentally unfair and should not have been acceptedI do not know enough to judge

Section

The path forward

Question 31 of 32After considering the questions in this survey, which statement is closest to your view?

Question 32 of 32Which long-term political outcome do you currently prefer?

Two independent states: Israel and PalestineOne democratic state with equal political and civil rights for allOne state that retains a specifically Jewish national characterOne state that retains a specifically Palestinian or Arab national characterContinued Israeli control with limited Palestinian self-governmentAnother outcomeUnsure

About you (optional)

These questions help compare broad groups. Select only what you are comfortable providing.

Age Gender Sexual orientation

Country of birth

Not answered

Country of residence

Not answered

Residential area Citizenship or residency status

Cultural or ethnic heritage (select all that apply)

Not answered

American (United States) Native American Australian Aboriginal Australian Torres Strait Islander Māori Other Indigenous or First Nations heritage European Middle Eastern or North African South Asian East Asian Southeast Asian Sub-Saharan African Caribbean or Afro-Caribbean Pacific Islander Latin American or Hispanic Another cultural or ethnic heritage Prefer not to say