More than half of Israel’s Arab population believe the ongoing war has actually increased the sense of a “shared destiny” with their Jewish neighbors, according to a new study.

It also found that only 9 per cent of Arab citizens said they identified primarily as “Palestinian” and that fewer than 7 per cent supported post-war rule by Hamas in Gaza.

A study of 500 adult Israeli Arabs in June, for the Dayan Center, at Tel Aviv University, found that 51.6 per cent believed the war had fostered a sense of shared destiny between Arabs and Jews in Israel.

A repeat study, carried out in the first week of December, showed the figure was now 57.8 per cent, representing a “statistically significant increase”.

In addition, the December study reveals that only 9 per cent of Israel’s Arab citizens said that being Palestinian was the dominant component of their personal identity. Their Palestinian identity came well behind Israeli citizenship (33.9 per cent), religious affiliation (29.2 per cent), and Arab identity (26.9 per cent). 

Researchers at the Dayan Center’s Konrad Adenauer Program for Jewish-Arab Cooperation suggest the a result of continuing war may be that  Israeli citizenship has become more important than the Arab identity – which carries deeper meanings such as religion, nationality, culture, tradition, language, and values.

“It cannot be ignored that a significant segment of Arab Israelis define their Israeli citizenship as the most important element in their personal identity,” they said. 

The researchers also asked Israeli Arabs about what should happen in Gaza after the war, whether Israel and Saudi Arabia should normalize relations, and the role of an Arab party in the next government.

On the post-war governance of Gaza, 20.7 per cent believed the Palestinian Authority should take control, 20.1 per cent preferred a multinational force, 17.9 per cent suggested Israel, and 15.8 per cent  favored local Gazan entities. Only 6.7 per cent thought Hamas should continue governing the Gaza Strip after the war.

More than half of those surveyed (53.4 per cent) believed a normalization agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia could signal a positive regional development. Just under half (49.2 per cent) felt resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should not be a precondition for such an agreement.

A large majority (71.8 per cent) supported the inclusion of an Arab party in the next Israeli government. Just under a half of the respondents (47.8 per cent) supported joining any government, not just a center-left coalition.

Dr. Arik Rudnitzky, project manager of the Konrad Adenauer Program, said: “It appears that under the dark shadow cast by the war over all citizens of Israel, both Arabs and Jews, meaningful bright spots are emerging, that could redefine the rules of the game in the post-war era.”

He noted that an unprecedented majority of the Arab public now support the inclusion of an Arab party in the next government.

He also said the war with Hezbollah in Lebanon and the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria had boosted Arab citizens’ appreciation of their Israeli citizenship.