Most Israelis are unconvinced by right-wing claims that expansion of West Bank settlements bolsters the Jewish state's security, according to a survey by a US institute published today.
The Washington-based Pew Research Center said its research showed 30 percent of Jewish Israeli respondents to its latest study believe "the settlements hurt Israel's security".
At the same time, "a quarter of Israeli Jews (25 per cent) say the settlements do not make a difference one way or another with respect to Israel's security."
But it said a large minority of 42 per cent fully back the claim.
The powerful settlement lobby, from which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing coalition draws much of its support, argues that the ring of settlements south and east of Jerusalem and across the occupied West Bank are a vital security asset.
Palestinians and the international community say that the settlements, built on territory occupied by Israel in the Six-Day War of 1967, are major stumbling blocks to peace efforts, standing on land which Palestinians see as part of their future state.
The Pew centre said its survey was conducted through face-to-face interviews with 5,601 Israeli adults from October 2014 through May 2015.
The survey said that Arab Israelis, who make up 20 per cent of the country's population of 8.4 million population, overwhelmingly said that Muslims were discriminated against by the Jewish majority.
"Roughly eight in 10 Israeli Arabs (79 per cent) say there is a lot of discrimination in Israeli society against Muslims, who are by far the biggest of the religious minorities," it said.
"On this issue, Jews take the opposite view; the vast majority (74 per cent) say they do not see much discrimination against Muslims in Israel.
