Despite electing a far right-wing government that doesn’t recognize Palestine as a partner in the peace process, about two-thirds of Jewish citizens in Israel have expressed their support for resuming peace negotiations with the Palestinian Authority (PA).

Up to 47.9 percent of the Jews expressed their strong support while, 18 percent said they would support such negotiations if they are held, making it a total of 66 percent, according to academic research published by Ono Academic College on Monday.

However, the prevailing view among Israeli Jews, according to the research, was that such negotiations would often fail.

The study dealt with the issue of relations between Israeli Jews and the Arab population known as Palestinians of 1948, in the light of escalating tensions between them over recent elections. This was accompanied by a campaign launched by the extreme right leaders, especially Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The results came as a surprise, as the public in this case was found to be more moderate than officials, with 68 percent saying they do not support the transfer of Arab citizens to the Palestinian state once established.

Seventy percent said they saw Arabs as moderates and could coexist peacefully with them, and 60 percent said Jews should learn Arabic language. The study also showed that 53 percent of the people who took the poll believe relations between Jews and Arabs in Israel are good, but political leaders destroy them.