{"id":178843,"date":"2024-06-20T09:55:47","date_gmt":"2024-06-20T13:55:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/?p=178843"},"modified":"2025-08-08T12:43:27","modified_gmt":"2025-08-08T16:43:27","slug":"settlements-and-violence-in-the-west-bank-and-east-jerusalem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/global\/2024\/06\/20\/settlements-and-violence-in-the-west-bank-and-east-jerusalem\/","title":{"rendered":"3. Settlements and violence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Though the war against Hamas has been taking place in Gaza, violence has also increased in the West Bank, according to the United Nations<\/a>. Israelis are broadly concerned about this: 65% say they are extremely or very concerned about increasing violence against Jews in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and 31% say the same about violence against Arabs. But Jewish and Arab Israelis differ over which group is the focus of their concern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to Jewish settlements in the West Bank, 40% of the public say they help Israeli national security, while 35% say they hurt. An additional 21% think settlements don\u2019t make much difference to the country\u2019s security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Israelis divided over whether Jewish settlements in the West Bank help or hurt Israeli security<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"A<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Israel has continued to plan for new West Bank settlements<\/a> in recent months \u2013 a move that prompted the Biden administration to declare in February that these settlements are \u201cillegitimate\u201d under international law, citing a 50-year-old U.S. State Department opinion<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Israelis are divided on the effect of continuing to construct settlements in the West Bank: 40% say they help Israeli security, 35% say they hurt, and 21% say they don\u2019t make a difference. (The remainder are unsure or decline to answer.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jewish Israelis are much more likely than Arab Israelis to view settlements as helping the country\u2019s security (49% vs. 8%). Indeed, two-thirds of Israeli Arabs say these settlements hurt<\/em> Israeli security \u2013 a position also taken by 26% of Israeli Jews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Highly religious Jews in Israel tend to think that settlements contribute to the country\u2019s security, but secular Jews are more likely to say settlements hurt security. Among self-identified Haredim (\u201cultra-Orthodox\u201d Jews) and Datiim (\u201creligious\u201d Jews), 85% say that the continued building of settlements helps Israeli security, and 57% of Masortim (\u201ctraditional\u201d Jews) agree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Among Hilonim (\u201csecular\u201d Jews), just 21% say settlements help security, while a 47% plurality view settlements as harmful in this regard. Both Masortim and Hilonim are less likely to offer opinions on this question than Haredim or Datiim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Israeli adults who place themselves on the ideological right are particularly likely to view settlements as helping Israel\u2019s security (68%), while those in the center (17%) and on the left (9%) are much less likely to share this viewpoint. Among those on the left, about seven-in-ten say the continued building of Jewish settlements in the West Bank hurts Israeli security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People who think that Israel and an independent Palestinian state can<\/em> coexist peacefully are particularly likely to say that settlements hurt<\/em> Israeli security (71%). Those who doubt that a way can be found for two states to coexist peacefully are much more inclined to see settlements as helping<\/em> Israeli security (60%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among the Israeli public overall, the view that settlements enhance security has increased 13 points since we first asked this question in 2013. Over that same 11-year period, the share of Israeli Jews who think building settlements helps Israel\u2019s security has steadily grown. The share of Israeli Arabs who agree has fluctuated a bit but has consistently stayed under 10%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Violence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"A<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Since Oct. 7, there have been myriad reports of violence against Palestinians<\/a> in the West Bank, with some of these events resulting in sanctions by the U.S. government<\/a> against individual settlers accused of committing attacks. And according to an Israeli human rights group<\/a> and Human Rights Watch<\/a>, rates of violence and death in the West Bank are at a historic high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There also have been reports of violence against Jewish settlers<\/a> in the West Bank, and more Israelis say they are extremely or very concerned about rising violence against Jews (65%) than against Palestinians (31%) in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Israeli Jews and Israeli Arabs differ sharply in their assessments:<\/p>\n\n\n\n