PSR - Survey Research Unit: PSR Polls among Palestinian Refugees

Table No. (3)

RESUTLS OF SURVEYS AMONG PALESTINIAN REFUGEES IN JORDAN

according to place of residence

January – June 2003

 

Part (1)

Questions in  part (1) have been asked to all Palestinian refugees and non refugees in the sample

 

Total %

Refugees in Camps

Refugees in Cities & villages

1) There are many proposed solutions to the Palestinian question. One of  the solutions proposes the creation of a Palestinian state, with Jerusalem as its capital, the withdrawal of Israel to the 1967 borders and the evacuation of settlements, but negotiations over the issue of the Palestinian  refugees’ right of return would be postponed for several years. Would you support or oppose this solution?

1) Support

35.9

26.9

38.2

2) Oppose

47.2

55.1

45.2

3) No opinion/Do not know

16.9

18.0

16.6

 

 

 

 

2) After the creation of the Palestinian state, the withdrawal of Israel and the evacuation of settlements, what do you think the Palestinian state should do with the already-built houses inside the settlements?

1) Destroy them

12.9

14.5

12.5

2) Sell them to the Palestinians who can afford to buy them

1.9

0.9

2.1

3) Give them to the refugees for free

29.3

35.1

27.9

4) Give them to the poor for free whether they are refugees or not

39.2

32.1

41.0

5) Give them only to the poor who are not refugees

3.3

3.7

3.2

6) No opinion/Do not know

13.5

13.7

13.4

 

 

 

 

3)  There is a second proposed solution to the Palestinian question, which is similar to the above solution, i.e. the creation of a Palestinian state, with Jerusalem as its capital, the withdrawal of Israel to the 1967 borders and the evacuation of settlements, but negotiations over the issue of the Palestinian  refugees’ right of return would be postponed for several years.  However, it proposes the moving of the population of the refugee camps to new housing developments without waiving their right of return. Do you Support or oppose this proposal?

1) I Support

45.4

44.2

45.7

2) I oppose     

36.9

36.5

36.9

3) No opinion/Do not know

17.8

19.3

17.4

 

 

 

 

4) Suppose these housing projects and developments will be located in the evacuated settlements. Do you support or oppose this solution?

1) I Support

66.6

67.0

66.5

2) I oppose

25.7

27.5

25.2

3) No opinion/Do not know

7.7

5.5

8.3

 

 

 

 

5) In the event an agreement is reached to end the occupation but the refugees issue had been postponed, would you then agree to stay where you are, or would you prefer to move temporarily to the Palestinian State?

1) Prefer to stay where I live now

66.2

59.5

67.9

2) Prefer moving temporarily to the Palestinian State waiting for the refugees issue to be resolved

24.6

32.5

22.6

3) Other (Specify_____________)

0.9

0.5

1.0

4) No Opinion/Don’t know

8.4

7.6

8.6

 

 

 

 

6) Are there any circumstances under which you may accept to live in peace, security and reconciliation with Israeli Jews?

1) Yes

9.7

7.9

10.2

2) No

85.5

85.6

85.5

3) No opinion/Do not know

4.7

6.5

4.3

 

 

 

 

7) After the settlement of the Palestinian question and the refugee problem, some people propose the immediate and simultaneous return of hundreds of thousands of refugees, even a million, from the Diaspora/outside the Palestinian state; whereas some believe that the absorption process should be gradual, and only tens of thousands of refugees should return to the Palestinian state gradually. What’s your opinion?

1) I prefer the simultaneous return of hundreds of thousands [of refugees]

35.0

38.3

34.1

2) I prefer the gradual return of tens of thousands [of refugees]

50.9

49.7

51.3

3) Other (specify __________)

1.6

0.2

2.0

4) No opinion/Do not know

12.4

11.8

12.6

 

 

 

 

8) After the creation of a Palestinian state and the settlement of the refugee problem, do you think that the West Bank and Gaza Strip can absorb the return of hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of refugees from the Diaspora/outside, in addition to the refugee population they have now?

1) They can absorb the refugee population they have now in addition to a half million refugees from the Diaspora/outside.

12.6

8.7

13.6

2) They can absorb the refugee population they have now in addition to one million refugees from the Diaspora/outside.

12.1

14.1

11.5

3) They can absorb the refugee population they have now in addition to several millions of refugees from the Diaspora.

25.9

31.2

24.6

4) The West Bank and Gaza Strip cannot absorb any refugee from the Diaspora.

25.8

26.8

25.5

5) No opinion/Do not know

23.6

19.3

24.7

 

 

 

 

9) If a Palestinian state is created, do you expect that the socio-economic conditions will allow the absorption of these large numbers of refugees?

1) Yes 

38.7

41.9

37.9

2) No

34.5

27.6

36.2

3) No opinion/Do not know

26.8

30.4

25.9

 

 

 

 

10) After the creation of a Palestinian state and the settlement of the refugee problem, do you see any need for the continuation of the work done by UNRWA? 

1) Yes 

25.5

25.3

25.6

2) No

58.8

55.3

59.6

3) No opinion/Do not know

15.7

19.3

14.8

 

 

 

 

11) After the creation of a Palestinian state and the settlement of the refugee problem, some propose the building of new cities in the West Bank and Gaza to accommodate the refugees who wish to stay in the Palestinian state and the refugees returning from the Diaspora, while others propose the expansion of the existing cities to absorb the refugees. What’s your opinion?

1) I Support the building of new cities

19.1

18.5

19.3

2) I Support the expansion of existing cities

24.1

26.5

23.5

3) I Support both solutions

46.2

45.8

46.3

4) No opinion/Do not know

10.5

9.1

10.9

 

 

 

 

12) The text of the Road Map plan, presented to the Palestinians and the Israelis by the Quartet, provides that a permanent solution to the refugee problem in the final talks should be “realistic and just and agreed upon by both the Palestinians and the Israelis”. Do you support or oppose this as a basis for solving the refugee problem?

1) I support

45.5

48.9

44.6

2) I oppose

36.6

35.6

36.9

3) No opinion/Do not know

17.9

15.4

18.5

 

 

 

 

13) After the creation of a Palestinian state and the settlement of the refugee problem, do you want to play a role in building this state and shaping its political and socio-economic future?

1) Yes

52.4

44.8

54.3

2) No           

29.9

25.6

28.4

3) No opinion/Do not know

17.8

19.7

17.3

 

 

 

 

14) Who do you want to represent you and your interests in the negotiations on refugees?

1) Palestine Liberation Organization  

40.0

46.6

38.3

2) United Nations

9.5

5.6

10.4

3) Jordanian Government