Hope, or lack thereof, is rapidly becoming a recurring topic of coverage in these pages. First, it was based on a study by M²: The Institute for Experiential Jewish Education, which found a surprising level of despair among American Jewish communal professionals, with just 24% expressing hope for the future (compared to 82% of the general American population). Now, a new survey by the American pollster Gallup again finds that one of the few things that Israelis and Palestinians can agree on is that there will never be peace between them.

According to the latest poll, nearly two-thirds of Israelis and Palestinians believe that peace “will never come to pass,” compared to 21% of Israeli adults and 23% of Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem who said that permanent peace between the two nations could be achieved. (For the past two years, Gallup has not surveyed Gaza-based Palestinians due to the war there.)

Though optimism for peace is a decidedly minority view among Israelis and Palestinians, these latest figures represent an increase from 2023 — before the Oct. 7 terror attacks and the start of the ongoing war in Gaza — when 15% of Palestinians from the West Bank and Jerusalem and 13% of Israelis said that peace was possible.

In addition to being equally pessimistic about the chances for peace, Israelis and Palestinians are unified in their opposition to the international community’s preferred resolution to their conflict: the two-state solution. According to Gallup, most Israelis (63%) and most Palestinians (55%) oppose the idea of an independent Palestinian state alongside an independent State of Israel. A third of Palestinians support a two-state solution to the conflict, as do 27% of Israelis. (Roughly one-tenth of each isn’t sure.)

In both groups, this represents a reversal from 13 years ago, when 61% of Israeli respondents said they supported a two-state solution and 30% opposed it, and 66% of Palestinians said they supported it and 32% opposed. The new Gallup poll also reinforces the belief that the two societies are growing increasingly entrenched in their maximalist demands. When broken down by age groups, the data show that among both Palestinians and Israelis, older respondents are more likely to support a two-state solution than younger ones, with the 15-29-year-old cohorts being the least supportive of the idea.