Poll: Jews favor two-state Israeli plan

JERUSALEM, May 14 (UPI) -- About 58 percent of Israel's Jewish population supports a plan to establish an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel, a new poll indicates.

The survey on the U.S.-backed plan was conducted ahead of a scheduled trip to Washington by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

The poll says 37 percent of Israeli Jews are opposed to the two-state solution, and 5 percent of those surveyed had no opinion on the matter.

U.S. President Barack Obama has expressed his support for the two-state plan.

The results are based on a representative sample of 500 respondents from the adult Israeli population. The poll was conducted Tuesday and Wednesday by the Smith Institute, commissioned by Ynet news agency.