King's College London

The work offers insights into what might be acceptable today.

In surveys with 1,197 Palestinians and 679 Israelis, researchers found practical improvements to daily life ranked among the highest priorities for both Israeli and Palestinian citizens, including the recognition of Israel, freedom of movement for all, mutual access to holy sites, and mutual prisoner release.

Using a methodology that varied the components of peace deals in a controlled manner, the study evaluated the support for 256 possible agreements and identified 55 of them as mutually preferable to the status quo, forming a Zone of Possible Agreements (ZOPA). Among all options offered, retaining the status quo as it was at that time was the least favoured option for 17 per cent of Israelis and 41 per cent of Palestinians.

Researchers Elisa Cavatorta (King’s College London), Ben Groom (University of Exeter) and Gilead Sher (Rice University), found the ZOPA was substantially smaller among those who had been exposed to violence, with far fewer areas in which citizens were willing to make compromise. Their work also showed that women and older respondents displayed a greater willingness to compromise than men and younger respondents.

They said: “Using nationally representative samples of Israelis and Palestinians we show that a Zone of Possible Agreement existed: mutually supported agreements did not necessarily include the highest priorities for both parties, but highlighted areas of potential agreement that are supported by majorities on both sides.

“The most favoured deals by both parties included changes from the status quo that hold tangible benefits for the daily lives of the people involved. Elements such as freedom of movement for everyone, unrestricted access to holy sites for all, prisoner releases, and recognition of Israel as a nation state for the Jewish people emerge as common ground.”