U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, and Palestinian Chief Negotiator Saeb Erekat. Photo: State Department.

JNS.org – More than half of the Israeli public does not trust U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to act as an impartial mediator between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, a new survey commissioned by Israel Hayom from the New Wave Research Institute found.

In the poll, 53.5 percent of respondents said they did not trust Kerry in that respect. Kerry is an unbiased mediator, said19.8 percent of those polled, and 26.7 percent said they had no opinion on the matter.

Regarding the recent proposal, brought up as part of the negotiations on a framework peace deal, suggesting that Israel withdraw its security forces from the Jordan Valley, 69.8 percent of respondents oppose such a move, while only 14.3 percent support it.