Palestinian cause, Jerusalem close to hearts of Jordanians, poll shows

AMMAN — The Palestinian cause and Jerusalem top the list of concerns among the majority of Jordanians, a recent opinion poll has shown.

The public survey, conducted by the Department of Public Opinion Polls and Surveys between February 16 and 22 and issued by the Centre for Strategic Studies at the University of Jordan, surveyed a representative sample of Jordanian society from all governorates and opinion leaders, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Tuesday. 

Included in the “Jordan Street Pulse” poll series, the survey addressed pressing issues currently facing Jordan, the region and the international community, with a focus on the US’ so-called "deal of the century".

The results showed that the Palestinian cause and Jerusalem topped the “interests list” of 61 per cent of the national sample and 70 per cent of the surveyed opinion leaders.

Asked about the "deal of the century", all the opinion leaders knew about the plan, while the vast majority of the national sample, at 89 per cent, said they had heard about the plan. When asked about the source of their information, television sources topped the list for both samples.

In terms of the major issues included in the US plan, a third of the national sample and a fifth of the opinion leaders said that the main issues were keeping Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel in addition to the plan’s intention to take over large swathes of Palestinian land.

Both samples — 11 per cent of the national sample and 9 per cent of the opinion leaders — also said that the plan aims to annex the Jordan Valley and impose Israeli sovereignty over the territory.

Fifteen per cent of the opinion leaders’ responses revealed that the main issue included in the so-called "deal of the century” is liquidating the Palestinian cause in the best interests of Israel, while 13 per cent of the opinion leaders said it is discarding Palestinian refugees’ right of return.

In response to a question on what they perceived the main objective of the deal to be, 31 per cent of the national sample said it is to occupy the entire Palestinian territories, while 21 per cent said it intends to establish the whole of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and 12 per cent said that the deal aims to eliminate the Palestinian state.

According to the poll, 9 per cent of the respondents believe that the aim is to empower Israel to exert greater control over the region. 

Regarding the deal’s “winners and losers”, 60 per cent of the national sample and 38 per cent of the opinion leaders thought that the Palestinians would face the greatest setbacks, while 15 per cent of the national sample and 14 per cent of the opinion leaders saw Jordan as bearing the brunt of the consequences. 

Thirty-two per cent of the opinion leaders and 8 per cent of the national sample said that both Jordan and Palestine are the main losers, while 13 per cent of both samples believe that the Arab world is the main loser.

The greatest winner, according to 74 per cent of the opinion leaders sample and 58 per cent of the national sample, is Israel, while 17 per cent of the national respondents said it is the US.

Regarding the Kingdom's position towards the US plan, 43 per cent of the national sample and 34 per cent of the opinion leaders said that they are “extremely satisfied” with Jordan's stance, while 16 per cent and 21 per cent of the two groups, respectively, are “not satisfied at all” on this matter.

Regarding the position that the Kingdom should take, 31 per cent of the national sample and 49 per cent of the opinion leader respondents suggested that the Kingdom should confront the plan and rally Arab and international efforts to prevent its implementation.

Twenty-four per cent of respondents said that the Kingdom should cut ties with Israel, while 19 per cent of the opinion leaders said that the government should scrap the gas deal and other Jordanian-Israeli agreements.

The majority of both samples felt that the top priority should be to maintain an uncompromising stance on Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine.