A poll released on Sunday 11 Iyar 5773by the Geocartography Research Institute on behalf of the Ariel Conference for Law and Mass Media shows 80 percent of the public support the application of Israeli sovereignty over Yehuda and Shomron.

According to the poll, some 80 percent of the respondents believe that Israel should apply sovereignty over Yehuda and Shomron, under whatever conditions. Of those, more than a third of the Israeli public is of the opinion that Israel has to apply sovereignty over all Yehuda and Shomron, while almost a quarter believes that it should be applied only over the settlement blocs.

Publications by the Ariel University further indicate that only about 20 percent of the public as a whole are of the opinion that Israel should apply sovereignty within the framework of an agreement.

Yehudit Katzover and Nadia Matar, leaders of Women in Green, the movement that for the past few years champions the acceptance of the idea of the application of sovereignty over Yehuda and Shomron, say that “these figures might be surprising for a part of the Israeli public, but this comes as no surprise to us. In recent years we have been traveling throughout Israel, and wherever the question of sovereignty is raised, the idea is received favorably, with extensive
support.”

The two note the constantly growing numbers of participants in the conferences for the application of sovereignty ­ with the last one receiving tremendous media coverage – and the growing number of supporters of the idea, among both public figures and the public at
large.

Katzover and Matar report that the three conferences held until now will have a continuation shortly, in the format of small and more focused lectures that will be held throughout the country, in order to continue to strengthen the awareness of the idea and the ability to realize it.

“We call upon the government of Israel to heed the voices that arise from the people. The government has a golden opportunity to demonstrate a true Zionist pioneering spirit and lead the public a step forward on its way to its political and security redemption. Today, the application of sovereignty is a necessity, that can be implemented with determination and courage. The people has sobered up from the two-state illusion, and it seeks a true Zionist answer, one based on values. The application of Israeli sovereignty over the cradle of Jewish history, Yehuda and Shomron, is undoubtedly such an answer,” Katzover and Matar say.

It should be noted that the demand for sovereignty, as indicated by the poll commissioned by Ariel University, is not necessarily centered among voters for the right. A total of 60 percent of the respondents who define their views as left wing views think, to some degree or other, that Israel has to apply sovereignty over all or a part of Yehuda and Shomron. Among those who define their views as left wing, 42 percent agree, in some degree, that international law must recognize Israeli sovereignty in Yehuda and Shomron.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)