Survey: Most Jewish settlers willing to withdraw

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- An Israeli peace group said Wednesday it had commissioned a poll that suggests 68 percent of Jewish settlers would obey a democratic decision by the Israeli government asking them to withdraw from the Palestinian territories.

Officials from Peace Now said the survey shows it is possible to move settlers from the Palestinian territories even under current conditions. An estimated 200,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank and Gaza.

The survey found that 6 percent of the settlers would resist an order to withdraw and 2 percent would resist by all means.

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Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza have been a major irritant to the Palestinians and a stumbling block to reaching a peace settlement.

The United States has called for a freeze on settlement activity in the Palestinian territories.

The Peace Now survey also showed that a majority, or 59 percent, of the settlers view financial compensation as the preferred solution.

Finally, the survey showed that 77 percent of the settlers chose to live in a settlement primarily for reasons of "quality of life."

Another 20 percent were there mainly for religious reasons, the survey said. Three percent said they chose to live in a settlement primarily because they believe the areas provide national security for Israel.

The survey results are based on a representative sample of 3,200 households in 127 settlements in the West Bank and Gaza, the group said, as well as a control group of 800 Jewish Israelis living within the Green Line, the unofficial border that separates the West Bank and Israel. About 4,000 phone interviews were done.

Two polling groups conducted the survey, which was done in three waves, from April to July, according to Peace Now.

Peace Now, founded in 1978 by reserve officers and soldiers in the Israeli military, advocates the right of Palestinians for self-determination in a state alongside Israel.