A random poll of East Jerusalem Arabs has led the pollster to conclude that “time is running out” for the unified city and to suggest a revamping of its political structure.
The survey, conducted by Professor Abraham Ashkenasi, showed that just over 50 percent of the respondents would like the city redivided into Jewish and Arab sectors, the situation that prevailed from 1949 to 1967.
Only 25 percent favor an open city.
Ashkenasi, who specializes in minorities and refugee problems at the Free University of Berlin where he teaches international polities, said the poll made clear that the overwhelming majority of Jerusalem’s Palestinian community desires sovereignty for the Palestinian people.
A majority of those polled expressed preference for a secular Palestinian state. Ashkenasi found significant, however, that 30 percent of the Moslems questioned would opt for an Islamic state.
The poll was commissioned by the Hebrew University’s Leonard Davis Institute for International Relations.
In a booklet accompanying the results, Ashkenasi said that “time is running out on a continued, relatively peaceful unified city.
“The growth of religious fundamentalism and political intolerance, especially in the young, will be fueled by failed political and economic programs.”
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