Most Residents in Israeli-Occupied Territories Dissatisfied with Government's Foreign Policies

"These are dangerous trends” - Mitvim chairman Dr. Nimrod Goren

Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu is the current Prime Minister of Israel.
Photo courtesy: algemeiner.com

Dec-29-2015
(TEL AVIV) - A mere 11% of residents in the Israeli-occupied territories are satisfied with the government’s performance in foreign relations, while 60% are not satisfied, according to a poll regional foreign policy conducted by a think tank namely Mitvim, reported by Jerusalem Post.

Only 7 percent of residents in the Israeli-occupied territories think Israel’s international standing is good.

Two-thirds said that Israel should focus more on its internal issues than on foreign policy, while 19% say the opposite.

Meanwhile, 63% say too much attention to foreign policy resulted in intensifying internal problems such as poverty, unemployment and inflation.

The vast majority of Israelis polled are also critical of the prime minister for giving many of the Foreign Ministry’s responsibilities to other ministers while keeping the portfolio for himself, with 78% saying that doing so endangers national security; 59% are unsatisfied with the Foreign Ministry.

The respondents are split on how Israel should respond to EU proposals to label settlement products: 48% think that the government should build less in settlements and 16% think it should build more.

Mitvim chairman Dr. Nimrod Goren said that “the findings show that the public is losing faith in the government’s foreign policy.

“We see this in the failure attributed to Netanyahu in his efforts to stop the Iranian nuclear project, in the feeling that Israel’s standing in the world and relations with the US are in a sharp decline, and in the concern about the ramifications of harming the Foreign Ministry."

"These are dangerous trends,” he said.

Goren called for Israel to adopt a new foreign policy, including cooperating with other countries in the region and the international community by working on peace with the Palestinians.