Israel poll: Peace with Palestine impossible

Most Israelis believe that there will never be a peace agreement between Israel and Palestine, according to a special opinion poll published on Sunday.

Ahead of the Jewish New Year festival, Rosh Hashanah, the poll found that as many as two-thirds of the 646 Jewish and non-Jewish respondents said that they do not think a peace accord between the two states will ever be reached.

Around 24 percent thought an accord was possible, but that it would take longer than five years to achieve. Only four percent believe that a peace agreement could be reached within five years. The remaining eight percent were undecided.

The poll was conducted by the Project HaMidgam institute for the Walla news website. Walla did not publish the poll's margin of error, nor did it say when the poll was conducted.

The poll also found that that 56 percent said they believe that life in Israel is good. Regarding problems facing the country, 36 percent highlighted the cost of living as a pressing issue, with security the second most pressing at 24 percent.

Israeli crossings closed off

The peace process between the two states has been hampered since a US-led peace initiative collapsed in 2014.

As Jewish New Year festivities begin on Sunday, the Israeli military has said it will prevent Palestinians from crossing into Israel from Gaza and the West Bank due to security concerns. The military typically closes crossings during religious holidays, but tensions will be high this year.

During last year's Rosh Hashanah festival, a wave of Palestinian attacks killed 34 Israelis and two Americans. Subsequent retaliatory attacks killed around 218 Palestinians.

On Friday, the Islamic Hamas movement called for a "day of rage" in the West Bank and Jerusalem in response to the last year's bloodshed.

dm/rc (AFP, AP)