Arab Residents of Jerusalem Want Israelis in Charge, Not PA

Report: Ninety three percent of polled Arab residents of Jerusalem prefer Israeli rule to Palestinian Authority.

By The Algemeiner

A new poll of Arab residents of Jerusalem by a Palestinian media outlet found that 93% of them prefer to remain under Israeli rule and would not give up their Israeli identity card.

Arab residents of Jerusalem are, for the most part, not Israeli citizens, but can request citizenship if they wish. Those who are not citizens carry a special ID card allowing them freedom of movement within Israel proper.

The poll conducted by the Shfa news outlet asked 1,200 Arab Jerusalemites — none of them Israeli citizens — regarding their preference for living under Israeli or Palestinian rule in the future.

1,116 of the respondents said they prefer for Israel to continue to rule Jerusalem. 84 said they preferred the Palestinian Authority, but 79 of those said they would not give up their current identity card.