Most Israelis think Trump peace plan will fail: Survey

JERUSALEM

A new public opinion poll in Israel suggests that most Israelis believe a backchannel U.S. Middle East peace plan -- dubbed the “Deal of the Century” -- will fail.

The same poll found that most Israelis believe that U.S. President Donald Trump is working in Israel’s best interest.

The survey, conducted by the Israel Democracy Institute and Tel Aviv University, found that 74 percent of Israelis believe Trump’s peace plan -- details of which remain vague -- will fail to gain any traction.

Slightly more -- 77 percent -- believe Trump is working in Israel’s best interest, according to the poll.

Meanwhile, 74 percent of Israelis surveyed believe Israel’s interests are “moderately important” or “very important” to the U.S. president, while 94.5 percent of Israel’s Arab citizens believe the same.

Only 30 percent of Israeli Jews surveyed -- and a mere 3.5 percent of Israeli Arabs -- believe Palestinian interests are important to Trump.

Last week, Trump’s senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner said the controversial plan’s details would soon be unveiled.

Kushner, along with U.S. peace envoy Jason Greenblatt, recently visited the region, where the pair held talks with senior officials in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar and Israel with a view to promoting the plan.

The Palestinian leadership in Ramallah, however, has rejected any talk of U.S. mediation since last December, when Trump formally announced his decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.